The Guardian

London, May 16:

Up to 20 million Britons are expected to protest against world poverty as part of the biggest mobilisation against global inequality ever seen.

In addition, 250,000 campaigners are planning to attend a rally in Edinburgh to coincide with July’s G8 summit at Gleneagles where key talks among world leaders could witness Tony Blair securing a historic deal to help Africa’s poor.

Oxfam ordered five million more white ‘Make Poverty History” wristbands. The charity has already sold three million.

Adrian Lovett, a campaign spokesman, said, “At this rate we would expect between 10 million and 20 million will join the campaign.” Meanwhile, BB-C is understood to have cleared its schedules on the same day as the Edinburgh march in anticipation of a huge global event.

Although the show of public support will bolster Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s efforts to secure a breakthrough on debt, aid and trade, concern is mounting in the Whitehall that key measures are failing to win US support.