US President George W Bush began his controversial state visit to Britain today with a vow to bring peace and democracy to Iraq and the Middle East.
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| US President, George W Bush, walks in front of the Duke of Edinburgh for an inspection of the Guard of Honour during the ceremonial welcome at London's Buckingham Palace.
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With London wrapped in an unprecedented security blanket to keep Mr Bush safe, hundreds of protesters gathered to object to his policies on war, trade and the environment. Up to 31 people were arrested for various public order offences this afternoon as several hundred people marched along the Mall in central London.
Protests are likely to reach their climax in an anti-war march tomorrow. Up to 100,000 people are expected to attend.
An investigation is also underway to find out how a Daily Mirrorreporter had used bogus references to secure a job as a servant in Buckingham Palace where Mr Bush and his wife Laura are staying. "Had I been a terrorist intent on assassinating the Queen or American president George Bush, I could have done so with absolute ease," the reporter, Mr Ryan Parry, said.
The palace launched an urgent investigation, but a White House spokeswoman said: "We have every confidence in the British security." The palace said it is considering legal action against the newspaper.
The Queen told President George Bush tonight that Britain and America stood firm in their determination to defeat terrorism.
Speaking at a Buckingham Palace state banquet in honour of the US President, she said the two countries had never been closer.
"We share the confidence - and the courage - to try to make this a more prosperous, a safer and, above all, a freer world," the Queen told VIP guests, including Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair.
During a state visit as rich in protest as pageantry, Mr Bush used a keynote speech to politicians and diplomats at the Banqueting House in Whitehall to justify his divisive Iraq policy and his staunch alliance with British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair. He shrugged off public expressions of opposition to the conflict by Britons, most of whom opposed the war, to defend his stance.
"The people have given us the duty to defend them and that duty sometimes requires the violent restraint of violent men. In some cases the measured use of force is all that protects us from a chaotic world ruled by force," he said.
Mr Bush said he believed in international institutions such as the United Nations, which he bypassed to launch war on Iraq, but that the United Nations' credibility - and viability - depended on a willingness to keep its word and act.
But Mr Bush's speech said the invasion of Iraq to oust Saddam, backed by his main ally, Mr Blair, was an example of the appropriate use of force.
"The inhabitants of Iraq's Baathist hell...do not miss their fugitive dictator. They rejoiced at his fall," he said. He vowed not to leave Iraq despite rising casualties among occupation forces, saying the alliance had not paid a high price in casualties and liberated 25 million people "only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins".
Mr Bush also spoke of his commitment to the Middle East peace process, repeating his call for a viable independent Palestinian state and the recognition of Israel, secure within its own borders, by its Arab neighbours. He said in the Middle East "we will consistently challenge the enemies of reform and confront the allies of terror. We will expect a higher standard from our friends in the region."
"By advancing freedom in the greater Middle East, we help end the cycle of dictatorship and radicalism which brings millions of people to misery and brings danger to our own people."
He urged Israel to end the daily humiliation of Palestinians and not to prejudice final peace talks by erecting "walls and fences".
"Israel should freeze settlement construction, dismantle unauthorised outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people and not prejudice final negotiations with the placement of walls and fences," he said.
At the formal start of what is the first designated state visit by any US president, Mr Bush received a 41-gun artillery salute and reviewed ranks of guards. Mr Bush and his wife had been officially welcomed by Queen Elizabeth with a formal ceremony at Buckingham Palace - staged there rather than London's Horse Guards Parade for security reasons. Mr Bush will attend a state banquet at the palace tonight.
Mr Bush was not expected to have any political presents for Mr Blair to show his electorate. US officials said he had not decided whether to lift steel import tariffs challenged by the European Union, and gave no sign of any concession to Britain's concerns about its citizens held at a US military jail in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.