posted 02-07-2004 02:42 PM            

By: outerbongolia

Nwonewsgroup

Protesters dressed in judges wigs and robes splattered white paint across the gates of Downing Street this morning to protest the cover up of the inquiry into Britain's intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Five were arrested and firefighters were called in to clean the paint using high power jets. Shortly afterwards, Parliamentary session was halted in the House of Commons, when hecklers consistently interrupted Tony Bliar as he opened a debate on the Hutton inquiry.

Five protesters, two female and three male, shouted allegations such as "murderer" and "whitewash" and were dragged from the public gallery one after another.

Speaker Michael Martin then announced that the sitting of the House was suspended for ten minutes and ordered the public gallery to be cleared.

The uproar began as Mr Blair was setting out the Government's case and repeating Lord Hutton's findings that reporter Andrew Gilligan's controversial broadcast accusing the Government of "sexing up" its dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was unfounded.

The premier initially ignored the interruptions from the Strangers' Gallery but eventually had to concede he could not hear what MPs were saying to him as he allowed them to intervene in his speech.

The protesters were removed by Commons security staff and taken to police cells in the Commons.