The appointment of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as the new Chief of Staff by the Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, has led to several protests in the country.

The move shields Lula from possible prosecution by a federal judge investigating a massive corruption scandal named ‘operation car wash’.

Ms Rousseff, however, said that was not the motivation for the appointment.

Under Brazilian law, cabinet members can only be tried by the Supreme Court.

Lula was questioned two weeks ago over allegations of money laundering.

He denied the allegations, saying that were aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2018.

The long-running inquiry is investigating allegations of corruption and money laundering at Petrobras.