A former United States marine turned peace campaigner is urging students at Oxford University to travel to Iraq as human shields.

Kenneth Nichols O'Keefe, who fought in the last Gulf war, plans to lead hundreds of Western volunteers overland to Baghdad.

He sets off from London on Saturday with his first convoy of British recruits, already believed to be as many as 150.

The veteran is speaking at 1930 GMT on Wednesday at the university's Ruskin College.

This meeting gives us a chance to listen to this remarkably courageous man Zaid Marham, organiser

Led by a white London taxi and two red double-decker buses, the convoy will visit France, Holland, Germany and Switzerland picking up more volunteers.

It is expected to arrive in Baghdad on 8 February, where the shields have vowed to stay until peace is declared.

The meeting is organised by the Oxford Stop the War Coalition and the Pakistan Discussion Forum.

One of the organisers, Zaid Marham, said: "Mr O'Keefe has become a committed fighter against war and injustice.

"He is a powerful, passionate and charismatic speaker. He is also the driving force behind the human shield project.

"This meeting gives us a chance to listen to this remarkably courageous man."

Mr O'Keefe renounced his American citizenship last year and claimed political asylum in Holland, where he now lives.

He told the BBC: "I'm hoping to recruit hundreds of volunteers en route to Iraq and my goal is thousands.

'Criminal war'

"In the UK and the US, there's little appetite for war but the authorities don't expect many people to go to such extremes to stop it.

"That would be true if there was only 20 to 50 of us, but if there's 500 or more, it becomes easier and easier to recruit people.

"Not one of the volunteers has said that they want to go to Iraq to support Saddam Hussein.

"The theme I'm getting is that this is a criminal war, that it's going to victimise an already victimised population."

He added: "I do all this because I want to see a peaceful world."