G8 Summit Preparations Finalised as Scene is Set for Historic Gleneagles Meeting

Streams of protestors are making their way to Scotland in their masses today, ahead of Wednesday’s G8 Summit. Gleneagles will be the site where the fate of a continent could potentially be decided by the world’s eight most powerful leaders on 6th July.

Just north of Edinburgh, 10,000 police are on standby, with watchtowers, surveillance cameras, a no-fly zone and a five-mile steel ring set around the Gleneagles hotel and country club, where the vital meeting will take place.

The world leaders now face fresh public pressure to strike a deal on poverty following the huge success of the Live 8 concert – the largest live concert held in history.

Monday morning, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown said that he hoped that the G8 Summit could build positively on the progress already made over the past few months in tackling poverty in the African continent.

Brown said, "I think we'll achieve something this week. There's still a long way to go and we'll try and make some progress in the next two or three days.

"What we've already got is the 100 percent debt write-off for the poorest countries. It's already achieved, we've won it. We've got a doubling of aid from Europe that's to build schools and hospitals, particularly in Africa. That's already agreed. The next stage, over the next few days, is to see if we can go further," said Brown.

He continued, "I think the power of public opinion -- and you saw a million in Philadelphia as well as hundreds of thousands out in Britain -- the power of public opinion is changing the mood and attitude of leaders of the world."

Running simultaneously with the Live 8 event, more than 200,000 campaigners marched in Edinburgh on Saturday and formed a human chain around the city, which demanded that the world leaders drag the African continent out of the desperate poverty it currently finds itself in.

With Brown suggesting that much of the work has already been done towards doubling aid and writing off the debts of African nations, Prime Minster Tony Blair has ensured that climate change is one of the other vital issues that will need to take priority at the meeting.

However, as the Summit gears up to take place, US President Bush firmly stated on British television that Blair should not expect any favours at the meeting in return for its allegiance with the US in the fight against terrorism in Iraq.

To ITN, in an interview to be shown today, Bush stated, "Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for keeping the peace and winning the war on terror, as I did."

"So I go to the G8 not really trying to make him look bad or good, but I go to the G8 with an agenda that I think is best for our country."

Bush repeated his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and stated that America would refuse to sign it or any such deals for the US to limit its high gas emission rates.

Bush said, "If this (agreement expected at Gleneagles) looks like Kyoto, the answer is 'no’. The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt."

The leaders of the G8 industrialised nations – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, USA and Canada – will descend upon Gleneagles, Scotland for the G8 Summit that will take place from 6-8 July 2005.