Bush cancels key engagement

President Bush today dramatically pulled out of a key London engagement as fears mounted for his personal security.

The President had been due to visit the memorial garden dedicated to the British victims of the September 11 terror attacks tomorrow afternoon and speak to relatives.

Today, the ceremony was cancelled at the last minute after Washington saw footage of the security breach at Buckingham Palace yesterday when a peace protester scaled the gates.

There is now growing concern among the President's bodyguards that British efforts to protect Mr Bush will be inadequate. Secret Service chiefs are understood to be especially concerned that Mr Bush would be too exposed at the centre of Grosvenor Square, site of the American Embassy.

Agents feared the rooftops or one of the surrounding buildings could be used for a sniper attack. They had failed to gain permission for every building to be evacuated before Mr Bush went outside.

Concerns had also mounted that protesters could have virtually surrounded Grosvenor Square, leaving Mr Bush vulnerable to attack.

The garden's proximity to Oxford Street had also prompted fears, as Mr Bush's security entourage does not like him being close to busy streets. They had not been allowed to have Oxford Street closed.

A spokeswoman for the embassy said: "He is not going. He was going but now he is not. There is nothing further for us to say."

Mr Bush will now meet 15 relatives of British victims of the September 11 attacks inside the embassy. The family members were being told today of the move by the Department of Culture Media and Sport, which had organised the ceremony in the garden and was only told today that it would not happen.

The move was so unexpected that it was too late to alter copies of Mr Bush's official itinerary. The cancellation means Mr Bush will spend virtually all of his visit behind closed doors.

The only part of the visit which will be in the open will be tomorrow morning when he is given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

It will take place under the tightest possible security, with 5,000 officers, including virtually every one of Scotland Yard's firearms squads, deployed around the palace.

The change to the President's programme came as Mayor Ken Livingstone told protesters the war had been illegal as he called on them to remain peaceful. He said: "You have the moral high ground. You are protesting against an illegal war - and the world will be watching you."

He said the £5 million cost of policing the visit worked out at £2 for every London council taxpayer. "I think most Londoners will be happy to give £4 for him not to come," he said.

Parents reacted with anger when they were told their children's school would have to close because it was on the route of Mr Bush's motorcade. Police said the alternative would be to search all staff and parents at St George's Primary in Hanover Square.

The president was landing tonight to face a withering attack on America's failure to capture Saddam Hussein. The criticism from politicians across the party divide, peace groups and military experts signalled a rough start for the visit.

The condemnation also covered the failure to discover Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and the survival of Osama bin Laden.

Leading the attack was Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who said: "The failure to capture Saddam Hussein is but one of a number of serious problems facing George Bush and Tony Blair in Iraq."

On the Labour side, former defence minister Peter Kilfoyle said the survival of the dictator was a "key issue for the Americans". "They demonised him. They made him a target," he said. "It's bizarre they have not managed to locate him but it speaks volumes for the qualities of their intelligence."

Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden, of the Institute of Strategic Studies, said the failure to find Saddam was "totally unacceptable", adding: "It is down to incompetence."

Major Charles Heyman, senior defence analyst for Jane's Information Group, said: "There is a very simple reason why Saddam Hussein has not been found - the plan to hide him was drawn up over a number of years.

"With every day that he is not found, the enemy gains strength."

Major-General Peter Martin, retired colonel of the Cheshire Regiment-said: "The coalition needs good intelligence and to get that, they need to have the goodwill of the people. The British Army is the world leader on matters of internal security, and I do wonder to what extent the Americans are looking to us for advice."

Clare Short, who quit the Cabinet in the wake of the war, called on Mr Bush in an open message in The Guardian to "take a deep breath and admit your 'war on terror' isn't working". Another ex-minister, Glenda Jackson, asked: "Why is George Bush being given a triumphal ride down Whitehall when Saddam is still roaming free?"

MP George Galloway, expelled from the Labour Party for his outspoken-opposition to the war, said: "The failure to find Saddam underlines the futility of the American strategy of war."

Former defence secretary Michael Portillo congratulated Mr Bush on bringing his own security.He said in today's Guardian: "You may have noticed our policemen could not protect the royal family from a joker dressed as Osama bin Laden. I don't think you could have relied on them to protect you against the real thing."

The Mayor released a survey claiming to show 59 per cent of Londoners think the attack on Iraq was unjustified, compared to 29 per cent who were in favour.

This was alongside a poll for This Is London, showing that 65 per cent of Londoners think it is the wrong time for Mr Bush to visit.

Across the UK however, more voters welcome the visit than reject it and 62 per cent think America "a force for good, not evil, in the world", according to a poll in The Guardian.