On Tuesday 25th October I was arrested outside Downing Street for taking part in an unauthorized demonstration in a public area, namely Whitehall. As part of the 100,000 bells ceremony Milan Rai and I were reading the names of Iraqis and UK soldiers who have died in the war against Iraq. This was the third out of the four sessions we had planned.

We started just after 9 am and almost immediately attracted the attention of half a dozen police officers. A PC told me that I was protesting in a restricted area and would be arrested in the next 5 minutes unless I moved on.

My initial feelings of fear soon passed as I concentrated on the names of the UK soldiers who had been killed in action. I was fully aware that arrest was imminent, but standing outside Downing Street on a drizzly Tuesday morning seemed the least I could do.