THE Tories yesterday called on Bob Geldof to withdraw his call for one million people to march in Edinburgh on the first day of the G8 summit.
Eleanor Laing, shadow Scottish secretary, told MPs that "the idea of flooding Edinburgh with a million protesters is simply not a good one".
Speaking at Scottish questions in the House of Commons, Mrs Laing expressed her concern over safety at the Long Walk to Justice event.
She asked Alistair Darling, the Scottish secretary, if he would join her in "calling on Bob Geldof to reverse his call and instead encourage people simply to support the already well-organised Make Poverty History event on July 2.
But Mr Darling refused to criticise Geldof and, expressing his hope the march would pass off safely, said: "If anyone wants to arrange new events or they want to do other things, I strongly advise them to get in touch with both the police and the council . . . so that we can make sure that people who come to Edinburgh can be accommodated safely."
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