DESPITE the Secretary of State's visit to Blackburn being dominated by protests over the Iraq war, Jack Straw today said the trip was a "great success."

The Blackburn MP and Foreign Secretary said he was not "embarrassed" by the noisy anti-war demonstration that greeted him and Condoleezza Rice as they arrived at Blackburn Town Hall yesterday for a meeting with Muslim leaders.

Instead he poked fun at those who braved the wet weather in their orange Guantanamo Bay-style overalls to shout anti-war messages and said: "I have been on many demonstrations and I have not forgotten what is a big crowd and what is a small crowd.

"That was not a big crowd.

"If they had asked me I could have done a better job for them.

He added: "I am just pleased that people have had the chance to put their views across in a peaceful way."

Demonstration organiser and member of the Community Leaders Forum at Pleckgate High School, Hanif Duhwala, was furious that Mr Straw had invited Dr Rice to Blackburn.

He said: "It is an insult to the Muslim community to bring the Secretary of State to Blackburn.

"It was a moral issue over an immoral war and the immoral American administration she is part of."

Ibrahim Master, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, met with Dr Rice at the Town Hall.

He said he was disappointed the planned trip to a local mosque had been cancelled due to security risks as he wanted to show the Secretary of State that not all Muslims were "terrorists bombers but were democratic citizens who could express themselves through peaceful protest and dialogue".

He added: "It is always good to get the chance to challenge Islamophobia and we had a good dialogue with Condoleezza Rice about American foreign policy.

"If our message is taken back to the White House then the meeting has been worthwhile."

Standing shoulder to shoulder with the protesters were shoppers who had turned up "just to enjoy the show" and get a glimpse of arguably the most powerful woman in the West.

Their cheers of support and applause were drowned out by shouts of "Shame on You" and "Condoleezza Rice go home," but Judith Hodgkinson, 35, from Blackburn, still though the visit was a real coup for the town.

She said: "She is a very powerful woman and for me it is astonishing to have a person like that in our town."

Sir Bill Taylor met Dr Rice at Ewood Park and said he was "most impressed".

He said: "This is the first time since the 1930s when Gandhi came to Darwen that we have had an international statesperson visit the region and it has really put Blackburn on the global map.

Lord Odin, who runs a gift shop in King William Street, said regular protest marches and events outside Blackburn Town Hall were putting shoppers off.

He said: "They should make them go into Corporation Park or somewhere.

"You don't see protests like this on Oxford Street."