Brown and Bush in Downing St talks

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The President's arrival in London was marked by anti-war protesters who gathered in Parliament Square. The numbers - estimated at 2,500 by police - were well down on previous visits and police ensured that they were kept well away from Downing Street.

Mr Bush remained unrepentant about the Iraq war but was forced deny reports of a rift with Mr Brown over reported British plans to announce the final withdrawal of UK forces before the end of the year.

Mr Bush told Sky News he was "really appreciative" of his relationship with Mr Brown on the issue, although he suggested that they had not always seen eye-to-eye.

He also referred pointedly to the fact that Britain still had more than 4,000 troops in the country, even though Mr Brown had previously announced plans to cut the numbers to 2,500.

"The worst thing allies can do is not communicate about our plans and our desires. We all want to take troops out of Iraq and we are," he said.

"He, by the way, left a lot of troops in, more so than they thought they were going to leave in initially.

"And so we communicate now and, if there's success, we're going to pull troops out and I have absolutely no problem how Gordon Brown is managing the Iraqi effort."

Mr Brown has said he wants to focus on efforts to curb rising oil prices - although some of the immediate concerns may have been eased by the announcement that Saudi Arabia was increasing production by 200,000 barrels-a-day.

However, Mr Bush responded coolly in interviews to a call by Mr Brown for a series of international conferences to tackle rising world oil prices, which he called an "interesting idea".