"The idea is to highlight how fake the toppling of the Saddam Hussein statue in Bagdad was" on April 9, Liz Hutchins, spokeswoman for the Campaign for Nuclear Disar-mament (CND), told AFP.

"The footage of the toppling of the statue has been exposed as a complete fraud in that it was US troops that help to topple it and the Iraqi people who were there were part of the entourage of the United States," Hutchins said.

"It was a symbol of victory for the US but in fact the occupation has turned out to be a total tragedy," she said.

CND and the Stop the War Coalition on Monday gained authorisation to march through Whitehall in central London, home to the government ministeries and Downing Street, which houses the official residence of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Protesters also plan to march over Westminster Bridge and past Britain's Houses of Parliament, before winding on through Whitehall to Trafalgar Square where the giant 6-metre (18-foot) statue of Bush will be unveiled and symbolically toppled at around 1715 GMT.

On Wednesday an "alternative procession" will poke fun at the fact that Bush, worried by the prospect of massive street protests, will not receive a royal procession that normally accompanies state visits of this kind.

A magnificent horse-drawn carriage pulled by two horses and driven by staff in ceremonial costume will leave the London Eye or giant wheel at 1100 GMT, explained Stop the War spokeswoman Tansy Hoskins.

Inside actors dressed as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and President Bush will wave ironically to the crowds of protesters.

CND will also parade a huge inflatable nuclear missile carried by people dressed up as UN weapon inspectors in white suits and masks.

"We will make the point that we have now found weapons of mass destruction, not in Iraq but here in Britain," said Hutchins.