One of the organisers of Saturday’s march demanding a ceasefire in Gaza has predicted that more than half a million people will attend the event.

The Stop the War coalition said coach companies across the country are reporting that all their vehicles are fully booked, with waiting lists in some areas.

John Rees, from the group, said the protest in London will be “truly historic”, exceeding the half a million he believes joined a previous protest in the capital.

“We are convinced it will be the biggest demonstration so far over Palestine,” he told the PA news agency.

“Our local groups up and down the country have reported they’ve sold out of seats on hundreds of coaches.”

Lindsey German, the group’s convenor, said: “Our local groups in towns and cities across the UK, along with coach companies, are telling us that every one of their coaches have been booked to bring people to London. This is comparable only to two million strong protest against the Iraq War in 2003.”

Stop the War has insisted that the focus of the march is on stopping the killing in Gaza.