Post by Taxigirl on Nov 21, 2003 10:11:17 GMT
Police have been sealing phone boxes, bins and drains
President Bush is completing his state visit to Britain with a trip to Tony Blair's constituency of Sedgefield.
Mr Bush is due to head to north east England with his wife Laura after a formal farewell from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
A £1m security operation is swinging into action around the small town of Sedgefield, with hundreds of police on duty.
Demonstrators are planning a mass protest on the village green as the president enjoys lunch with Mr Blair in the nearby Dun Cow Inn.
President Bush's state visit was overshadowed on Thursday by the bomb attacks in Turkey in which 27 people - including four Britons - lost their lives and at least 450 were injured.
BUSH IN SEDGEFIELD
Arrives in Sedgefield from Teesside Airport
Walk in the town with Tony Blair
Tea at the prime minister's constituency home
Lunch at local pub
The president's trip to the UK has also been marked by protests against the visit.
Mr Bush and Mr Blair reacted to the carnage in Istanbul by vowing to crush global terrorists.
"They are not going to succeed. We are united in our determination to fight this evil wherever it is found," Mr Bush said at a joint press conference.
Mr Blair agreed: "There must be no holding back, no compromise, no hesitation in confronting this menace, in attacking it wherever and whenever we can and in defeating it completely."
Effigy toppled
On the same day, at least 100,000 people joined a protest march in London against Mr Bush's visit.
The demonstration ended with a giant effigy of Mr Bush being torn down in Trafalgar Square, in a recreation of scenes from the fall of Baghdad.
Anti-Bush banners and poster are already visible in Sedgefield.
Hundreds of people are expected to arrive from as far afield as Yorkshire and Scotland to show their opposition to American foreign policy.
A spokesman for the Stop the War coalition in the North-East said of the village green rally: "We are hoping it's going to be quite colourful.
"It is to let Bush know that people are there and put our views across to him in whatever way we can.
"There is not a grand plan apart from to get people over there, and hopefully out of the crowd some ideas will arise."
Security officials are effectively closing down the town, at the heart of the parliamentary constituency of the same name.
Vehicle owners were told to move cars parked on streets by Thursday evening.
From 0800 GMT on Friday the same roads will be closed completely to traffic.
Drains, postboxes and rubbish bins have been sealed
People 'put out'
The nearby village of Trimdon Colliery, where Mr Blair has his constituency home, has also been affected by the traffic measures, as have some nearby main roads.
Squads of plain-clothed and uniformed police have been visiting Sedgefield this week and particular attention has been paid to the Dun Cow Inn.
The overall police operation involves 1,300 officers from various forces. All leave across the Durham police force has been cancelled.
A spokesman for the force said: "A lot of people are going to be put out by this on Friday but unfortunately there is nothing that we can do."