Tamil protest spills onto streets outside Westminster
Several hundred Tamil protesters calling for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka brought roads outside the UK Houses of Parliament to a standstill today.
Police said large crowds of demonstrators surged through police lines and spilled on to several streets in Westminster, central London.
Tamil supporters, including several hunger strikers, have been camped in Parliament Square since the beginning of last month.
Representatives met Foreign Secretary David Miliband last week to urge him to do more to end the fighting.
Demonstrations have flared around the world to highlight the deaths of civilians and alleged human rights abuses during fighting in Sri Lanka.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At about 10.30am today about 500 protesters in Parliament Square pushed through police lines across the road towards the Palace of Westminster.
“The protesters are now sitting in the road between Parliament Square and Whitehall. Police are currently negotiating with the demonstrators to get them back into Parliament Square.”
