Anti-drone protest march

Anti-war campaigners have today been protesting against the use of drones outside RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.

ITV News' Carl Dinnen reports:

An RAF has been targeted today by anti-war protesters following the confirmation that it had begun to remotely control armed drones in Afghanistan.

It's the first time the drones have been controlled from the UK at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire but the Ministry of Defence say they will not be used for targeted assassinations - a practice that has produced outrage against the American use of drones.

Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports:

Chris Nineham, from the Stop the War Coalition, believes armed drones are fundamentally wrong, and he will campaign until the technology is banned.

Hundreds of peace campaigners have started marching from Lincoln to RAF Waddington, in protest of a new fleet of armed drones being based in the UK for the first time.

The RAF began remotely operating its Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles earlier this week from the airbase in Lincolnshire.

Previously operated from a United States Air Force base in Nevada, the aircraft are used to support coalition ground forces in Afghanistan.

Members of the Stop The War Coalition, CND, The Drone Campaign Network and War on Want are estimated to walk the four mile route in around two hours.

Ahead of a planned protest outside an RAF base today against the UK's use of armed drones in Afghanistan, War on Want senior campaigns officer Rafeef Ziadah said:

The Ministry of Defence has defended its use of drones in Afghanistan, which it says have saved the lives of countless military personnel and civilians.

Anti-war protesters are set to gather outside an RAF base today to voice their opposition to the UK's use of armed drones in Afghanistan.

Members of the Stop The War Coalition, CND, The Drone Campaign Network and War on Want will march from Lincoln to nearby RAF Waddington.

The RAF began remotely operating its Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles deployed to Afghanistan from the Lincolnshire airbase earlier this week.

In a statement, the RAF said it had started supporting the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan ground troops with "armed intelligence and surveillance missions" remotely piloted from RAF Waddington.

The aircraft were previously operated from a United States Air Force base in Nevada.