Eight arrests after anti-war protests

Eight people were arrested last night after scuffles broke out and traffic was brought to a halt on Whitehall during an anti-war protest against the Government attended by up to 4,000 people.

Eight people were arrested last night after scuffles broke out and traffic was brought to a halt on Whitehall during an anti-war protest against the Government attended by up to 4,000 people.

Campaigners waving banners and banging drums gathered opposite the Houses of Parliament during the early evening as part of a nationwide day of action against military strikes on Iraq.

The Stop the War Coalition, which organised the demonstrations, said road blockades were also organised in Sheffield and Liverpool. An attempt to occupy Canterbury Cathedral was thwarted by police.

Organisers said the day of 250 events to coincide with Halloween was designed to give Tony Blair and the American President, George Bush, "a fright" over preparations for an assault against Saddam Hussein.

In London, demonstrators listened to speeches by the veteran left-winger Tony Benn and the writer and broadcaster Tariq Ali before marching down Whitehall to Downing Street. As protesters made their way to join members of CND staging a sit-down protest in Whitehall, skirmishes with police broke out. Fireworks were also set off when the march continued towards Trafalgar Square. There were no reports of injuries.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Scuffles broke out briefly in Whitehall but they were quickly dealt with. Eight people were detained for public order offences."

The demonstrations were aimed at reminding ministers of the level of support for the anti-war movement after a mass protest in London in September was attended by 400,000. Organisers of yesterday's event in London claimed that more than 4,000 people attended. Police estimated the crowd size at 1,500.

A spokeswoman for the Stop the War Coalition said: "The march was almost entirely peaceful. It was an exercise in direct democracy unlike what takes place in Parliament."

Protests also took place in Edinburgh, Swansea, Brighton, Cardiff, Burnley, Leeds and Ipswich. In Oxford, demonstrators held a mass cycle ride.