The Royal Navy's flagship vessel has arrived in Scotland to take on supplies as it makes final preparations for its journey to the Gulf.

The aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal, is bound for the Middle East with other British warships as speculation mounts that there will be a war against Iraq.

The Ark Royal is berthed at the Glen Douglas defence munitions base on Loch Long in Argyll.

Anti-war activists gathered on the banks of the loch to protest against the prospect of war.

The Ark Royal is here to load up munitions, some of which may be used to wage war on Iraq Jane Tallents Scottish CND

A spokeswoman for the nearby Clyde Naval Base at Coulport confirmed the ship was making a stop-over at the site.

She said: "Ark Royal will be picking up stores and munitions before going to join the Naval task group and heading to the Gulf and this stop is very much routine in that respect.

"When a ship deploys like this, it has to pick up so many things at one point but it may have to go elsewhere to collect other items.

"It could be foodstuffs, toilet rolls or equipment for the boiler room."

However, the Ministry of Defence has a weapons storage facility in the hills overlooking Loch Long.

Strathclyde Police has introduced operating traffic restrictions at Glen Massan, which is north of the Navy's Coulport base, to ensure goods can be transported easily to the ship.

Against the war

As crew members loaded and unloaded brown bags and large silver tins on to the ship, 10 demonstrators held a 12ft-long white banner which read: "No more war. Hands off Iraq. End the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land."

Jane Tallents, chairperson of Scottish CND, condemned the "hypocrisy" of the British Government.

She said: "The Ark Royal is here to load up munitions, some of which may be used to wage war on Iraq.

"We, like the majority of people in this country, are against that war.

Security was tight around the ship's arrival

"It amounts to hypocrisy to go and wage war against a country that possibly may have weapons of mass destruction, when Britain and America have these weapons."

It is not known how long the ship will remain at the site.

The deployment is part of one of the Navy's largest operations in 20 years, which will see 5,000 Navy personnel and 3,000 Royal Marine Commandos sent to the Gulf region.

Ark Royal is leading Britain's biggest maritime taskforce since the Falklands War more than 20 years ago.

She set off from Portsmouth harbour on Saturday.