Speaker's Corner urges end to war

If the mood at Speaker's Corner is any measure of military progress in the Afghan war, then the Pentagon is in deep trouble. In Hyde Park, orators queued up to offer to fight for the Taliban and condemn the Bush administration as "fascists".

Twenty six speakers were addressing more than 400 spectators, ranging from bemused tourists to local Middle Eastern residents, yesterday. But not a single voice was in favour of air strikes.

Abdulrezaq Bezan, an estate agent, got up to criticiseWashington for civilian deaths, including children, saying: "For God's sake, a child is a pure, innocent human being. If I could get to Afghanistan, I'd fight with the Taliban. Every statement they make is very reasonable. The people of America should be asking not who carried out these attacks, but why. Who appointed America to be in charge of the world?"

Labour Party member Heiko Khoo, 37, said: "The western elites are using the 11 September attacks to mobilise their military might and so organise the world in their interest."