Around 100,000 protesters marched through London and tore down a mock statue of visiting US president George W. Bush this evening, many of them convinced his policies were to blame for anti-British bombs in Turkey.
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| An effigy of US President George W. Bush is pulled down in Trafalgar Square, London, as part of a large protest over his state visit.
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Demonstrators of all ages beat drums and blew whistles along a three-mile route that took them past parliament and the end of Downing Street, where crowds paused to jeer towards Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair's office.
When they reached Trafalgar Square, protesters felled a six-metre (20-foot) papier mache statue of Mr Bush in a parody of the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein when US and British troops swept into Baghdad. In its top pocket was a puppet with a grinning Blair face.
"Bush and Blair said they were fighting a war against terror to make the world a safer place for people," said Paul Burrows (38) a university lecturer. "They haven't done that. Going out bombing people just gives them more reason to hate the West."
Hours earlier, suspected Islamist suicide car bombers had attacked the British consulate and the offices of Britain's HSBC bank in Istanbul, killing at least 27 and wounding hundreds.
At a joint news conference, Mr Bush and British Prime Minister Mr Blair declared their determination to wipe out terrorism wherever it occurred.
Organisers estimated as many as 300,000 people had taken part in the demonstration. A police crowd control officer on the ground put the turn-out at above 120,000, while Scotland Yard's press office said there were 70,000 protesters.
A group of London schoolchildren skipped class to join the demonstration. "We don't want Bush here," said Dyana (14).
She and her friends marched shoulder to shoulder with pensioners, office workers and students banging drums and blowing whistles. Some protesters wore George W. Bush masks, others were dressed as Ronald McDonald.
All police leave was cancelled for the duration of Mr Bush's visit and over 5,000 officers were on the streets. Police said they had made 46 arrests since Bush's arrival on Tuesday evening, all for minor offences such as drunkenness.