EDWARD BLACK

THE presence of thousands of protesters at this summer's G8 summit is an excellent marketing opportunity for Scotland and should be treated like "a Fringe Sunday", the leader of Edinburgh city council has said.

More than 100,000 protesters are expected to take part in an anti-poverty parade in Edinburgh on 2 July - four days before world leaders gather at Gleneagles Hotel.

But despite fears of violence, Donald Anderson said he planned to take part in the march and believed the event would be positive for Edinburgh and Scotland.

Security experts last night said Mr Anderson's view was "naive and dangerous" and the march would almost certainly be targeted by anarchists from the Continent.

But Mr Anderson insisted: "There is no doubt that it will be a real challenge for us to cope with the presence of the G8 summit in Scotland, but we have one of the best events teams in the world.

"The presence of 1,500 delegates and over 3,000 media representatives in Edinburgh is a real opportunity and we can take advantage of it.

"I am hopeful that the Make Poverty History march will pass off peacefully and without incident. We are already one step ahead of the game compared to other cities who have hosted this event before, in terms of establishing a relationship between the police and the 150 charities making up the march.

"I will be on the march myself and have no problem with reconciling that with my role as council leader.

"There is always likely to be a small minority of protestors intent on causing problems, which happens at football matches or any event, but we expect the vast majority of participants not to cause trouble.

"Problems in the past have been caused by demonstrators being met with barbed wire and we want to create an atmosphere that is far more like a festival. We want it to feel like a Fringe Sunday or an event on the Meadows."

But David Capitanchik, a security expert at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, said: "I was surprised when Gordon Brown encouraged people to join the anti-poverty march which I think is an occasion to worry about.

"The organisers will hope it passes off peacefully but the big concern will be anarchist groups from the Continent who are bound to view the march as an opportunity to cause trouble. It only takes a few people to misbehave to cause chaos."

However, Richard Saville-Smith, a spokesman for the Make Poverty History coalition, which includes charities such as Oxfam and Help the Aged, said: "Lothian and Borders Police have adopted a far more subtle approach than the police in Genoa and the march will be peaceful. It will be child-friendly and if I saw someone smashing in McDonald's I would take action myself."

One man intending to join the protest, who did not want to be identified, said: "It's a bizarre protest when it gets endorsed by Gordon Brown and made into more of a public relations exercise. It shouldn't just be a total feelgood march."

A spokesperson for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We have been in the planning stages for several months now. There will be riot police available on standby and we are prepared for every eventuality."