Protester scales Buckingham Palace gates on eve of Bush visit

8.00am

LONDON - A lone anti-war protester has dodged tight security and scaled the gates of Buckingham Palace on the eve of United States President George W Bush's state visit to Britain.

The woman, wearing a fluorescent jacket, climbed the six-metre-high wrought-iron gates in front of the palace in central London on Monday and unfurled an upside-down US flag with the inscription "Elizabeth Windsor and Co. He's not welcome".

Police said the woman began her protest just before 4pm local time (5am NZ time) and they were trying to talk her down.

A police spokesman declined to comment on whether the woman's protest had breached security.

Bush is due to arrive late on Tuesday for his first visit to a major European capital since the invasion of Iraq in March. A march against the war will take place in London on Thursday.

Unprecedented security measures were being put in place on Monday. More than 14,000 police will be on duty during Bush's three-day visit.

- REUTERS

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