Mixed reception for Assad

A NOISY protest took place outside Downing Street yesterday as British Prime Minister Tony Blair held talks with Syrian president Bashar Assad.

The crowd of hundreds, kept behind barriers by police, was split almost equally between supporters of Mr Assad and those who disapprove of the red carpet treatment he is receiving during his four-day visit to Britain.

There was banging of pots and pans and chanting as the Syrian leader and his wife pulled into Downing Street to be met by Mr Blair and other British ministers.