UK: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 the prime minister.
Toyin Agbetu (39) sparked a security scare when he jumped up from his seat in the congregation and ran in front of the altar at Westminster Abbey.
About 3m (10ft) from where Queen Elizabeth was sitting, he shouted: "You should be ashamed" and "this is an insult to us". The member of human rights group Ligali brought the proceedings to a halt as security guards attempted to control him. More than 2,000 people including Tony Blair, the queen, the duke of Edinburgh, the archbishop of Canterbury, chancellor Gordon Brown and deputy prime minister John Prescott were in the abbey for the national commemorations.
During his outburst Mr Agbetu, who had a ticket for the event, stood in the lantern with his arms raised, shouting: "You don't have the decency, Mr Blair, to make an apology and the word sorry, and you, the queen . . ."
He called on members of the congregation to leave in protest.
"We should not be here, this is an insult to us. I want all the Christians who are Africans to walk out." After several minutes he was escorted outside to Dean's Yard where he was arrested.
One onlooker, Henry Bonsu, who stepped up to make sure Mr Agbetu was not mistreated by the police, said: "The queen, as ever, was unruffled but she looked interested."
Outside, Mr Agbetu demanded that the queen apologise for the royal family's former role in supporting the slave trade.
"The queen has to say sorry. It was Elizabeth I. She commanded John Hawkins to take his ship.
"The monarch and the government and the church are all in there patting themselves on the back. This nation has never apologised, there was no mention of the African freedom fighters. This is just a memorial of William Wilberforce," he said.
Mr Blair has refused to bow to demands to apologise for Britain's role in the slave trade, expressing instead "deep sorrow and regret" for the suffering it caused. The Church of England general synod voted last year to apologise for profiting from the slave trade.
The royal family's involvement can be traced back to 1564 when Elizabeth I provided the slave trader Capt John Hawkins with an armed ship to repel any foreign resistance. She received a share of his profits.
Asked whether the queen would apologise, a palace spokesman said the laying of flowers by the monarch at the innocent victims' memorial outside the abbey at the end of the service was "significant and symbolic". - ( PA )