OPPONENTS of the war in Iraq have accused Bolton Council of trying to "gag" them after banning a town centre protest meeting.

Council chiefs have cancelled Bolton Stop The War Coalition's booking amid fears that agitators could hijack the meeting and inflame tensions.

They say the decision has been made to help preserve harmony among the ethnic communities.

But peace campaigners say stopping next Thursday's meeting at the Central Library's lecture theatre in Le Mans Crescent -- where speakers including Labour councillor Mohmed Alli were due to speak -- is an attack on their freedom of speech.

Cllr Alli, who represents Central ward, said: "We live in a society where we say we believe in democracy but here we have a properly constituted organisation, which led a protest march in London attended by more than a million people, and its freedom of speech is being stifled.

"It is a public space that they have booked. You might as well ban people from protesting on the town hall steps.

"There are many other things we could be doing to improve social cohesion but in this case I don't think it fits."

Coalition secretary Malcolm Pittock said he was stunned when the booking was overruled, the day after it had been made. Mr Pittock said: "It is a serious infringement of our democratic rights. The library and its facilities belong to the people of Bolton.

"I'm sure that political pressure has been brought to bear here. We feel that we have been gagged for political reasons.

"We have used the library for three meetings, including one last year, and there have never been any problems." But a statement issued by the council insisted that the lecture theatre booking had been cancelled to help preserve harmony in the town.

It said the decision had been taken by "the chief executive, in consultation with the leader of the council, Cllr Bob Howarth".

"In view of the current international situation we are not accepting any bookings from organisations or individuals whose meetings have the potential to be hijacked by opponents and inflame tensions," the statement said.

"Our aim is to maintain community cohesion and we feel that this is best served by this temporary measure."

A council spokesman later added: "It has been standard practice for many years not to accept bookings at our venues for meetings of a political nature during the lead-up period to an election."

Bolton South-east MP Brian Iddon, who has spoken at two Stop The War Coalition meetings, said he had mixed feelings about the decision.

He said: "I can see where the council is coming from but there have been several meetings in Bolton already and I haven't felt there's been a problem with increasing community tension.

"I went to a recent meeting at Emmanuel Hall in Deane and all sections of the community were represented. If anything it helped bring them together. But if this is the council's decision, they have obviously considered it and I respect that."

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said the force had not been involved in the decision.

Bolton Stop The War Coalition, an umbrella group which includes Bolton CND and Bolton Quaker Peace Group, claims around 200 active members.

The furore follows a row last year when Mr Pittock, who is also secretary of the town's CND group, accused the council of political interference over a controversial exhibition at the library.

Then a CND display about the dangers of depleted uranium shells was removed several days early at the instigation of council leader Cllr Bob Howarth, who described it as "propaganda," to make way for an exhibition marking National Holocaust Day.