They may be related but an Iraqi man living in Winchester is no supporter of Ahmed Chalabi, touted as a possible successor to Saddam Hussein.

"He is looked upon as a puppet by the Iraqi people," said Zuhair Chalabi, of Cranworth Road, who was born in Baghdad and moved to Britain nearly 40 years ago.

"He is not my choice. The Iraqi people need a freely-elected leader, not a US puppet."

Zuhair is a distant cousin of Ahmed, leader of the Iraqi National Congress and one of the best known opposition figures. They share a great-grandfather.

A former banker and maths lecturer, Ahmed left Iraq in 1956 and lived mainly in the USA and London except for a period in the mid-1990s when he tried to organise an uprising in Kurdish controlled Northern Iraq.

A seasoned lobbyist, he is a controversial figure who supported the US-led war on Iraq.

"I have only encountered him once or twice in London. I don't know much about him," said Zuhair, a retired software engineer.

Zuhair has a vested interest in seeing the right sort of government in place in Iraq as he is concerned for relatives still living there and hopes that political stability will come soon to the wartorn country.

His brother, sister-in-law and four nephews and nieces live in Baghdad but he has not heard from them since the war started.

Zuhair's wife, Gill, said: "We have heard rumours they are okay but electricity lines are still down after the bombing and we can't e-mail or telephone them.

"We are worried because we don't know if they are getting clean drinking water. What kind of peace is this when these issues don't seem to be addressed properly?"

The couple are now helping to organise an event at Winchester's United Reformed Church in Jewry Street on Saturday, May 10th, focusing on post-Saddam Iraq.

Called "Unheard Voices from the Middle East," its guest speaker will be exiled Iraqi writer and painter, Haifa Zangana, who will share the platform with a Palestinian speaker, yet to be confirmed.

Gill said: "We want to explore what kind of peace is being proposed. Will it benefit the whole of Iraq?

"My own feeling is that if we get a peace that will benefit the people of Iraq it will be good for future generations everywhere as the Middle East is such a strategic part of the world."

The event, which includes entertainment and tea Middle-Eastern style, has been organised by Winchester Council for Peace and Justice, together with Winchester Quakers and Southampton's Al-Nisaa Association, a Muslim women's welfare group.