Hundreds gather for anti-war rally

The anti-war meeting in York attracted hundreds

Hundreds of people from York and North Yorkshire have gathered in York for an anti-war meeting.

The meeting, on Monday evening at the city's Le Meridien Hotel, on Station Road, was addressed by veteran Labour backbencher George Galloway and a number of academics.

Mr Galloway, who is on a nationwide tour, said there was growing opposition to the prospect of war in the Middle East.

York peace campaigner Joyce Pickard told BBC News Online: " This was a chance for people in and near York, who can't travel, to hear people who have a good knowledge of the subject and strong feelings about the threat of war."

And she added: "The meeting was about strengthening, informing and reinforcing the already strong opposition to war."