Olympic torch in UK amid protests

Last Modified: 05 Apr 2008
By: Andy Davies

The Olympic torch arrives at Heathrow ahead of tomorrow's procession through London.

It's an event that's expected to be dogged by protests against China's crackdown in Tibet - pro-Tibet campaigners claim that as recently as Thursday, eight people were shot by police there.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will not boycott the Beijing Olympics despite opposition calls for him to do so.

Adding to the pressure, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to stay away unless China has talks with the Dalai Lama.

On Westminster Bridge this morning, the protests had already begun.

The message on a banner just legible in the wind read - one world, one dream, free Tibet.

Those arrested were part of a group called Students for a Free Tibet - just one of a number of protest organisations converging on London for tomorrow's parade.

It's not just the estimated 2000 police officers on duty tomorrow who'll be protecting the Olympic flame as it navigates its way through the streets of London, hundreds of flag-waving Chinese students will be there too to monitor its progress.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to watch the procession tomorrow.

From Wembley Stadium the torch will be carried into central London, past a mini carnival in Notting Hill, dragon dances in Chinatown and into Downing Street at around one o'clock.

The band of the Scots Guards will strike up at St Paul's as the torch continues on to Stratford, and then Canary Wharf, with its final destination in North Greenwich. There an Olympic cauldron will be lit.

The Prime Minister today reiterated his opposition to any boycott of the Beijing Olympics, not a shrewd move claimed the Liberal Democrats.

When the comedian Francesca Martinez abandoned her role as one of 80 torchbearers in political protest live on Channel 4 News three days ago, there was renewed scrutiny over exactly who would be carrying the torch in London.

Even as the roadside barriers went up this afternoon, the final list was still being kept secret.

A question still remains over whether the Chinese ambassador to London will join in the relay.

Her only public comment today was limited to an article in the Times newspaper.

The Prime Minister today reiterated his opposition to any boycott of the Beijing Olympics, not a shrewd move claimed the Liberal Democrats.

The Olympic torch was in St Petersburg earlier today and it is arriving at Heathrow tonight - the next leg of this 85,000 mile, 21 country relay - the organisers have branded this a "journey of harmony".

But tomorrow in London several hundred protestors will seek to strike more than a few dissonant notes along the way.