A `SMOKERS' parade at the Manchester International Festival is to carry a health warning.

Unrepentant smokers were recruited to take part in Procession - a parade designed to showcase Manchester life to the world - but their inclusion triggered a row between council bosses and festival organisers.

Artist
The festival team and Turner-prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, who created the piece of living art, advertised for smokers to take part.

But town hall chiefs were furious after learning of their involvement in the parade, which is being partly paid for by the taxpayer-funded Association of Greater Manchester Authorities - and flies in the face of public health campaigns.

Freedoms
Festival bosses refused to remove the smokers, saying it would infringe on artistic freedoms, but have now agreed to include health warnings in the parade, which will travel along Deansgate tomorrow.

It is understood they have agreed a compromise, which means an extra banner being on show which highlights the dangers of smoking.

Critics
Coun Pat Karney, NHS Director of Smoke Free Greater Manchester, has been one of the strongest critics of the artwork.

He said: "These dilettante festival artists think it's super-cool to promote smokers. I wonder if they would join me on the cancer and heart wards of Greater Manchester.

"The festival organisers are acting like agents of the tobacco industry. This shameful parade of smokers should never have been allowed to happen in Manchester.

'Mockery'
"Smokers have every right to smoke, but to do it on public money and in front of a family audience makes a mockery of all the work put in to improve the region's health."

The parade was branded a `waste of taxpayers' money' after the smoking element came to light and organisers were asked to remove it.

Coun Sue Cooley has asked for an enquiry into how much public money was spent recruiting the smokers.

Committee
She said: "I have asked that the scrutiny committee to look at why public money is being spent on this, in a city which has the highest number of deaths from smoking in the country.

"As an ex-smoker, I can say it's not about us preaching to people, but we don't need to throw money at this."

Cathedral
Former mill workers, boy racers, goths, fish and chip shop appreciators and Happy Mondays fans will also take part in the hour-long event, which will travel from Liverpool Road to Manchester Cathedral.

It is part of a series of events at the start of the two-and-a-half week arts extravaganza, expected to cost about £9.6m.

A spokeswoman for the festival said organisers were too busy to comment.