LONDON, Nov 17: Police and fire services converged on Buckingham Palace on Monday after a lone woman climbed to the top of the front gate to protest US President George Bush’s state visit to Britain.

She clambered up the wrought iron gate, wearing a fluorescent yellow jacket that appeared to have a message on the back. She was also seen carrying a US flag, also with writing on it.

“Her flag seemed to say something like ‘Elizabeth and Co, Bush not welcome’ and she had something on the back of her jacket as well,” said Stephen Beasley, a software entrepreneur who witnessed the incident as darkness fell.

“First one officer arrived and then they sent out other uniformed officers to talk to her. She seemed happy to be there. She’s proving her point. It takes quite a bit of courage to stand on the gates of Buckingham Palace.”

Mr Bush is to stay at Buckingham Palace, the queen’s official residence in central London, when he arrives on Tuesday for the first state visit ever by a US president to Britain. —AFP