There has seldom been a time in British history when public opinion was so out of step with the majority view in the House of Commons.

While Tony Blair, Iain Duncan Smith and hundreds of MPs argue strongly that disarming Saddam Hussein is a necessity, most people in Sussex and elsewhere do not favour war against Iraq without the backing of the United Nations.

There are probably more people against war of any kind than there are backing the stance taken by the beleaguered Mr Blair.

The Prime Minister and his supporters are being left in no doubt about the strength of public opinion. Wherever Mr Blair goes, he is met with jeers, hostility and placards.

Hove Labour MP Ivor Caplin, a government Whip, was given a taste of how peace protesters felt when they surrounded his surgery. Children have been demonstrating at scores of schools.

All this anger is likely to be nothing compared with the furore that will be unleashed if, as seems probable, British troops go into Iraq without UN support.

Some groups are already planning direct action which would bring cities such as Brighton and Hove to a juddering halt.

There is every justification for passionate protest when so much is at stake. But there is none for disrupting public services.

At least we have the freedom to protest against what our leaders are doing; a right which is sadly absent in Iraq under the cruel dictatorship of Saddam.