BBC NEWS
Four hundred people attended an anti-war march in Glasgow to back calls for the withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq by Christmas.
Those addressing the protest in Pollok included Rose Gentle, 40, whose son Gordon was killed in Basra in June.
She attacked First Minister Jack McConnell for not attending the rally.
When challenged over that decision at Holyrood on Thursday, he said it would not be in the interests of the Iraqi people for British troops to pull out.
'I think the work of the Black Watch and other British soldiers in Iraq should be supported by everybody in this parliament,' he said.
Mrs Gentle, who watched first minister's questions from the public gallery, condemned Mr McConnell's decision to refuse the invitation.
On Saturday, she told protesters that she would continue her campaign until she got to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair face to face.
She said: 'He sent my son to get murdered and I don't want him to murder any more of the boys.'
Private Gentle was serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers when he was killed in Iraq just weeks after completing his training.
Pte Gentle was killed while on patrol in Basra
The 19-year-old died after a roadside bomb was detonated while he was on patrol.
The rally in Lockhar Park, Pollok, also heard from Reg Keys, whose 20-year-old son Thomas was killed by a mob in Iraq last year.
The 52-year-old, who now lives in Bala, Wales, said: 'Like most of the nation I believed the hype and lies of weapons of mass destruction, I was told my son was going to war to defend us from the immediate threat of WMD.
'My son was lied to, the nation was lied to and I resent this because it cost me my son's life.
'These Black Watch boys are out there fighting for the biggest lie of the century. Iraq had no WMD.'
Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan said the UK Government should follow Spain's example.
'We have no place in Iraq, and if the Spanish government can pull out its troops in 28 days then our message to Tony Blair is to bring back our troops by Christmas, bring them out now,' he said. "
