BRITAIN: The US President lavished praise on the British Prime Minister and the British people yesterday as he ended his state visit to Britain, reports Frank Millar in London
As President and Mrs Bush flew back to Washington from Teesside after their trip to Mr Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency, there was satisfaction in Downing Street that the controversial visit had cemented "the special relationship" between Britain and the US and had renewed the focus on the "war" on international terrorism.
However that satisfaction was tempered by the grim knowledge that Thursday's massive protests had been pushed down the news schedules by the suicide attacks on British interests in Istanbul in which 27 people died and more than 400 were injured.
America was "lucky to have a friend as loyal as Tony Blair" and Britain "fortunate to have a prime minister who is clear-sighted about the threat of the 21st century", Mr Bush said as he again promised no let-up in the fight against terrorism.
Mr Bush confirmed that he had spoken to the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Tayyip Erdogan, and assured him of his prayers and that Britain and America would help defeat the al-Qaeda threat which has put Turkey in the front line.
The British Foreign Office last night warned that further attacks could be attempted in Turkey and again advised Britons against non-essential travel there.
In an unprecedented security operation by the Durham constabulary, streets were sealed off and protesters kept at a distance as the US Marine One helicopter landed Mr and Mrs Bush on a soggy football pitch in the tiny village of Trimdon Colliery.
It was yet another of the contrasts of a state visit conducted amid the pomp and splendour of Buckingham Palace, inside a security bubble, to the accompanying backdrop of the presidential effigy being toppled in Trafalgar Square.
Having taken leave of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, the last leg of the president's visit included a lunch of fish and chips and mushy peas in Mr Blair's local, the Dun Cow Inn, in Sedgefield town centre.
About 70 local guests joined the Blairs and the Bushes, beginning with cream of potato and leek soup and finishing with lemon crème brulée. After lunch, the party visited Sedgefield Community College, a specialist sports school, to talk to pupils and watch a display of football skills.
Mr Bush told reporters: "We had a good lunch. I have had a wonderful trip. The prime minister has been a gracious host, as was Her Majesty."
As Mr Bush left Britain, he won an unexpected tribute from Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Menzies Campbell. An opponent of the war in Iraq, Mr Campbell and his party leader, Mr Charles Kennedy, met Mr Bush on Wednesday morning.
While "not persuaded" by what he said, Mr Campbell told the ePolitix website the president was "totally at odds" with his media image. "He is personally extremely engaging. He has a well-developed sense of humour, is self-deprecating and when he engages in a discussion with you, he is warm and concentrates directly on you."