THOUSANDS of activists from around the world gathered at Westminster’s Central Hall on Saturday for an international conference against war organised by the Stop the War Coalition.

The London conference was backed by 11 trade unions and over 1,100 individual signatories, drawing attendees from 23 countries.

Among the leading anti-war campaigners were Medea Benjamin of Code Pink and Amara Enyia of the Movement for Black Lives from the US, Palestinian physician and MP Mustafa Barghouti and French MP Jerome Legavre.

Chairing the opening session, ex-president of transport union RMT Alex Gordon said: “The gathering is part of a movement against the militarisation of Europe.”

Ulrike Eifler of the German union IG Metall said there was a mass industrial crisis in her country with huge numbers of job losses; the answer of the German government was to expand the military.

“Rearmament is not the way to rebuild industry,” she said.

Four weeks ago the German union federation DGB rejected moves towards conscription in Germany. “This means that at a time when an entire generation is being prepared for war, the unions have taken a stand,” she said.

The UCU union’s Sean Vernell pointed out how the strikes of workers in France, Italy and Greece had set a benchmark for the kind of action needed to stop the war machine.

He said: “When [US President] Trump tried to wage gangster imperialism in the Middle East, he lost. Despite their massive military power, they’re not in a situation they can win.

Mr Vernell added that the struggle against racism is connected to the fight against war and imperialism. “When they unleash the dogs of war, they unleash the dogs of racism as well,” he said.