Veterans of 'Stop the War' rally go on the march again

Ceinwen Hilton will never forget the moment she turned into Shaftesbury Avenue on a cold February morning in 2003 to see a river of people holding banners and chanting slogans in the biggest anti-war march in recent British history.

She was one of more than two million people who turned out to join the Stop the War protest in London to march against the Government's decision to invade Iraq.

Four years later, Ms Hilton is today set to walk the same route across central London in a Stop the War Coalition march calling on the Government to pull troops out of Iraq.

As she marches, the 600,000 people who have died as a result of the invasion will be on her mind. Notwithstanding the "tremendous solidarity" experienced on that day four years ago, she will look back in anger.

"In 2003, the feeling was incredible. I was delighted that people had made the effort to show just how widely the opposition to war was felt. I remember the amazing feeling I had walking down Shaftesbury Avenue and seeing all the cast of Les Miserables cheering us on from the balcony.

"When we were demonstrating four years ago, 600,000 were not dead. I'll be remembering them on today's march.

"Back then, there was a positive atmosphere with a lot of passion. Today is much more about anger and disgust," she said.

Tens of thousands of protesters are set to join Ms Hilton, including politicians, entertainers, military families and anti-war activists, who are among speakers at rallies in London and Glasgow. The demonstration, jointly organised with CND and the British Muslim Initiative, is also a protest at the likely replacement of the Trident nuclear missile system.

For Ms Hilton, 49, the demonstration is just as significant as the protest in 2003. "I'm protesting against the possibility of the invasion of Iran. I think it's very important that people protest on the streets, even if the Government doesn't change its mind. It may not make a difference in terms of policy but it has an effect in telling the Government there's a grand opinion against them," she said.

Lindsey German, from the Stop The War Coalition, said the march was set to be one of the biggest of recent times with coaches coming from 150 towns and cities across the country.

"We think that the announcement that some troops will be withdrawn has made people more determined to join the demonstration," she said.

Relatives of soldiers killed or serving in Iraq were set to camp outside Downing Street after handing in a letter to the Prime Minister calling for British troops to be withdrawn immediately.