Bush announces state visit to UK

Thursday, 25 September 2003 12:00 AM

President Bush will be travelling to London later this year at the invitation of the Queen, White House officials announced today. It will be the first state visit by an American president since Ronald Reagan received his honorary knighthood in 1982.

The trip will take place between the 19th and 21st of November, and is expected to give President Bush and the Prime Minister an opportunity to review the situation in Iraq.

The strength of the alliance between the two does not seem to have waned since the war in Iraq, despite the ongoing security problems that the coalition forces are faced with. In a statement today the President expressed his deep gratitude to the UK for its "courage and sacrifices in support of freedom and democracy throughout the world".

But commentators have suggested that the trip could spawn some uncomfortable moments for the president, who has been heavily criticised by anti-war campaigners on this side of the Atlantic.

This weekend another anti-war demonstration is being organised in Hyde Park, and it is expected that similar protests could take place during the presidential visit to the capital.

It is a particularly difficult time for the two leaders following a leak from the Bush administration, claiming that the US scientists looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq - the basis of the case for war - are due to report that none have yet been found.

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