Chaotic scenes at London Olympic torch relay

By Katherine Baldwin and Raissa Kasolowsky

LONDON (Reuters) - Beijing Olympic torch relay spokesman Qu Yingpu said on Sunday the flame had brought "hope and friendship" to London.

The chaotic scenes in the capital told a different story.

Protesters draped in Tibetan flags hurled themselves into the path of the torch as it was carried across the city. Police rugby-tackled campaigners or pushed them into barriers.

One man managed to get his hands on the torch before police dragged him away. Two others even tried to douse the flame with a fire extinguisher before being arrested.

"China has no right parading the Olympic torch through London. The relay itself is nothing more than an elaborate propaganda tool to cover its appalling human rights record," they said in a statement read to Reuters by a witness.

Three rings of guards, both British police and Chinese officials, ran alongside anxious-looking torch bearers throughout the 31-mile (50-km) journey.

At one point, the flame was rushed onto a double-decker bus decked out with the slogan "Light the Passion, Share the Dream" to escape crowds of anti-China campaigners.

Police vans sped alongside as the bus hurried along streets lined with bemused spectators, cameras at the ready.