Protester demands an apology from Queen over slavery

Published on Wednesday 28 March 2007 00:15

A PROTESTER interrupted the church service to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade yesterday to demand an apology from the Queen and Tony Blair, the Prime Minister.

Toyin Agbetu sparked a security scare when he jumped up from his seat in the congregation and ran in front of the altar at Westminster Abbey.

Standing around 10ft from the Queen, he shouted: "You should be ashamed. This is an insult to us."

Mr Agbetu, 39, a member of human rights group Ligali, brought the proceedings to a halt as plain-clothes security guards and two abbey staff attempted to control him.

More than 2,000 people, including Mr Blair, the Queen, Prince Philip, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, and John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, were in the abbey for the national commemorations.

Mr Agbetu, who had a ticket for the event, shouted: "You don't have the decency, Mr Blair, to make an apology and the word sorry, and you, the Queen ..."

He then called on members of the congregation to leave in protest. After several minutes, he was escorted outside to the Dean's Yard where he was handcuffed, arrested under Section 5 of the Public Order Act and taken to the Charing Cross police station.

One onlooker, Henry Bonsu, said: "The Queen was unruffled but looked interested."

The service - to mark the bicentenary of the 1807 Act of Parliament abolishing the trade in slaves throughout the British Empire - continued after Mr Agbetu was removed.