LONDON, Nov. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Hundreds of protesters gathered Tuesday evening in central London to voice their opposition to US President George W. Bush's arrival for a state visit amid tightest security the British capital has ever seen.

    At London's Parliament Square on Tuesday, a protester used a bullhorn to bark words comparing Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair with Hitler.

    "How can you be bombing babies (in Iraq), Mr Bush and Mr Blair? It is not Christian, it is blasphemy!" the words were shouted.

    Two separate protests were organized Tuesday evening. One was led by the Burning Planet group outside US embassy in protest against US environmental policies and the other was a "Stop Bush" rally attended by some British anti-war lawmakers.

    On Wednesday, school students will gather at Parliament Square in central London following hundreds of protesters riding bicycles stage their protest throughout main streets of the British capital.     

    An "alternative" state procession will also be held Wednesday, complete with horse-drawn open carriage and a protester dressed in regal-style robes.

    One day before Bush's arrival, despite the huge number of police preparing for the visit, grandmother Lindis Percy managed to scale the front gates of Buckingham Palace to protest. She came down voluntarily after two hours on the top of the gates.

    Stop The War coalition, the main protest organizer, says there will be a series of anti-Bush protests throughout the country for each day of Bush's stay, which is to end Friday.

    The group's spokeswoman Lindsey German said Tuesday that opposition in Britain to Bush's visit is growing, despite the results from a poll published by the Guardian newspaper on the day. "Opposition is just snowballing," she said.

    "Our phones have not stopped ringing with calls from people wanting to show their opposition to the (Bush) visit," she told reporters. As many as 23,000 people visited the group's website: http://www.stopthewar.co.uk on Monday.

    It is expected that the protests will culminate Thursday, when tens of thousands of people from all over Britain are to join the "Stop Bush" mass march in central London. They will also topple a mock statue of Bush in Trafalgar Square at the time.

    Earlier on Tuesday, Mayor of London Ken Livingstone voiced his support for protests against Bush's visit to Britain this week, but urged the protesters being peaceful and within the law.

    "You have the moral high ground....You are protesting against an illegal war and occupation (of Iraq) and the world will be watching you," he told in a direct message to the would-be protesters.

    In an interview with the Ecology magazine issued this week, the veteran left-winger even accused Bush of being "the greatest threat to life on this planet that we've most probably ever seen", claiming Bush's policies "will doom us to extinction."

    Charles Kennedy, leader of Britain's second largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party, has also said his party is in favor of the protests.

    British people should "use the opportunity to leave the president in no doubt as to the extent of public concern... about the way in which events tragically have unfolded," he has said.

    Bush's visit is reportedly aimed to lobby for help from his staunchest ally amid escalating violence in Iraq against US troops and mounting outcry for a quick transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis. Enditem