Supporters of prison hunger striker Barry Horne were today mounting a protest outside the constituency home of Prime Minister Tony Blair and at Downing Street as his health continued to deteriorate in a York hospital.

Protesters stage an all-night vigil at York District Hospital for Barry Horne

Horne, who is serving 18 years at Full Sutton Prison, near York, for a firebombing campaign which caused £3 million damage to shops, is now in a serious condition at York District Hospital.

Today is the 51st day of his hunger strike against animal experiments and, as his supporters planned protests all over the world and a vigil continued outside the hospital today, they warned of widespread anger against the Government if he died.

A spokesman for York NHS Trust confirmed he had been taken there yesterday afternoon, accompanied by prison officers. A spokesman for the Prison Service said today his condition "remained serious".

John Chapple, of the Animals Betrayed Coalition, said the prisoner's next of kin, Alison Lawson, who was a fellow activist, had visited him in hospital.

He said: "His pain is getting more severe, he is losing vision, and the damage he is doing to himself could now be permanent.

"On the 42nd day he was told by a doctor he had a good chance of dying. He has made a living will forbidding any treatment should he lapse into a coma."

He said a group of supporters would be starting a fast, lasting for as many hours as the number of days Horne had been on his strike, outside the constituency home of Tony Blair in Sedgefield A peaceful demonstration of about a dozen activists began to form outside the gates to No 10 Downing Street just after midday today.

Activists carried a banner saying: "Who would have thought that you could starve under a Labour government - ask Barry Horne" and laid flowers at mock tombstones to dead animals.

Police officers behind the gate stood and watched as they held up pictures of Barry Horne and a placard saying: 'Labour's Broken Promises Kill'.

Horne, who was convicted in 1997 of four charges of arson at shops on the Isle of Wight and other charges of attempted arson and possessing bomb-making equipment, has gone on hunger strike to demand a Royal Commission on animal experiments.

"If anything happens to Barry it will make a lot of people angry," he said.

Members of York Animal Aid and other North Yorkshire animal activists started their vigil outside the hospital last night and said they had received support from passing motorists tooting their horns. One resident had even come out to offer them duvets to keep warm.

Up to 20 supporters were there all last night and more arrived today from Leeds to join them.

Lara Saunders, from the vigil, said: "I think the Government made a very grave mistake because they're not honouring their pre-election pledge.

She said Horne had signed a living will which said that no one could give him any medical attention or food.

see COMMENT 'No sympathy for extremists'

Activist with a pocketful of bombs

Barry Horne was responsible for two firebombing campaigns, one in the Isle of Wight and one in Bristol.

He targeted shops and in Bristol was convicted of two attacks - one on BHS and one on a Cancer Research Campaign charity shop. He said he was protesting at animals being experimented on by researchers looking for a cure for cancer.

A master of disguise, he worked alone and operated by walking into shops and hiding homemade bombs in the pockets of clothes.The bombs all had timers and he would leave the shops before they went off.

When police arrested him in a fishing shop (he was also anti-fishing), he was carrying bombs in his pocket and a police found a stockpile of homemade bombs in his flat.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.