St George awaits his party plans

A row has broken out over London's plans for marking St George's Day.

Mayor Ken Livingstone promised to mark April 23 - dedicated to England's patron saint - after spending £100,000 of taxpayers' money on St Patrick's Day celebrations in the capital.

Last month, he told a newspaper the St George's Day events - the first officially staged in London - would be just as big as those for St Patrick's Day.

But, with only two weeks to go, few details of the hoped-for party in Trafalgar Square have been revealed. The only thing planned so far is for The Globe theatre to offer free admission on the day - which is also Shakespeare's birthday.

Officials remained tight-lipped about other celebrations last night, saying plans would be announced 'in due course'.

Roger Evans, a Tory London Assembly member, said: 'If a comparable event is to be staged on April 23, surely plans should have been published already?'

According to legend, St George was a Christian hero who triumphed over evil by slaying a dragon.

In real life, he is thought to have been a soldier who tore down Diocletian's edict against Christianity, for which he was beheaded in Lydda, Palestine, in AD303, thus becoming an early Christian martyr. He was made a patron saint in 1061.