Let's hear it for Chris Huhne........

.....bet you never thought you would hear me say that! But, he has come up trumps today - just got the following message from Stop the War Coalition re the planned demo against George Bush on Sunday -

The demonstration against George Bush's state visit to the
UK on Sunday 15 June will definitely take place, now the
police have accepted that we can assemble in Parliament
Square.
The campaign to get the ban lifted on us marching from
Parliament Square to Downing Street continues. Today, the
Liberal Democrat shadow home secretary, Chris Huhne, wrote
to the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, calling on her to
overturn the ban on the anti-Bush march.
Calling the ban 'the final straw' after Wednesday's vote on
42-day detention, Huhne says, "Just because the votes of
these protesters cannot be bought, it does not mean that
their voices should not be heard by those in 10 Downing
Street. In this country we have a long tradition of peaceful
protest and I would be shocked if British civil liberties
were curtailed at the request of a foreign government." (See
full text of the letter below.)
This is a very important demonstration against a war
criminal who should be on trial rather than "honoured" by a
state visit. But it is now also a key event in the battle to
reclaim our civil liberties, which have been under continual
attack under the guise of the "war on terror". The shameful
farce of Gordon Brown bribing through parliament his
detention without trial legislation and the ban on our march
to Downing Street are just the latest examples.
Stop the War urges all its supporters to join us in
Parliament Square on Sunday 15 June at 5.00pm, when we will
insist that war criminals are not welcome here and asserting
our right to demonstrate peacefully. It is still our
intention to defy the ban on our march from Parliament
Square to Downing Street.
GEORGE BUSH NOT WELCOME HERE
DEFEND OUR RIGHT TO PEACEFUL PROTEST
END UK SUPPORT FOR US WAR POLICIES
DEMONSTRATE SUNDAY 15 JUNE, 5.00PM
PARLIAMENT SQUARE, LONDON
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/
Called by Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament and British Muslim Initiative

THE FULL TEXT OF LIBERAL DEMOCRAT SHADOW HOME SECRETARY
CHRIS HUHNE'S LETTER TO THE HOME SECRETARY:

Dear Home Secretary,
I am writing to urgently request that you review the
decision of the Metropolitan Police to ban the anti-Bush
march taking place this Sunday 15 June from marching down
Whitehall. As you will be aware the Stop the War Coalition
have organised dozens of peaceful marches past Downing
Street, and I am deeply concerned that the request has been
denied.
In this country we have a long tradition of peaceful protest
and I would be shocked if British civil liberties were
curtailed at the request of a foreign government. I hope
that you can also confirm that the decision of the
Metropolitan Police was not made at the request of the US
authorities.
A static demonstration in Parliament Square is no
replacement for a protest march down Whitehall and I urge
you to work with the police and the protesters to ensure
they are able to make their voices heard outside Downing
Street. Just because the votes of these protesters cannot
be bought does not mean that their voices should not be
heard by those in 10 Downing Street.
Kind Regards,
Chris Huhne
Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary