Biker Bush in scrape with the law

US PRESIDENT George W Bush collided with a police officer during a bike ride on the grounds of Gleneagles while attending the G8 summit.

Bush suffered scrapes on his hands and arms and the police officer was taken to a local hospital, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

It was raining lightly at the time.

Mr Bush slid on the road, suffering scrapes, while the officer was taken to hospital as a precaution.

The officer might have an ankle injury, McClellan said.

The fall did not affect Mr Bush’s schedule. He went ahead with a dinner hosted by the Queen.

The officer, who was on a security detail, is a member of the Strathclyde police.

Mr Bush has fallen off his bike before.

Earlier yesterday, more than 10,000 demonstrators shouted anti-American slogans outside the US Embassy in Copenhagen as Mr Bush left for Gleneagles.

“The main issue is Bush’s foreign policy,” said Lars Moeller, a 44-year-old janitor. “The Iraq war ... is an illegal war the way I see it and Denmark is part of it.”

Denmark’s government is a staunch supporter of the Bush administration and has committed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Some 200 protestors marched to the embassy, shouting “Death to Bush! Death to imperialism!” They burned Danish and American flags.

Two people were arrested, but there was no violence, a police spokesman said.

Police set up barbed wire around Marienborg, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s official summer residence, north of Copenhagen, where he hosted Bush yesterday morning.

Bush thanked the Danes in a news conference with the prime minister.

He said: “We’re grateful for your understanding, the people’s understanding that freedom is a universal right.”