His jet Air Force One landed at Heathrow Airport at around 1.55pm ahead of two days of meetings with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and the Queen.

Mr Bush emerged from the plane, which landed close to the private Royal Suite, with wife Laura from where they were whisked away in the waiting presidential helicopter Marine One.

The couple, who flew in from Paris, waved at the top of the plane's steps before being escorted across the tarmac to the waiting helicopter.

Mr Bush appeared in jovial mood as he walked ahead of his wife and smiled and waved at waiting photographers.

The President and First Lady were then flown the short distance to Windsor where they will have tea with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle.

One part of the runway on the south side of the west London airport had to be temporarily suspended to other traffic while they landed but a spokesman for BAA said they expected disruption to other passengers to be kept to a minimum.

A significant security operation is in place for Mr Bush's visit and armed police and sniffer dogs were patrolling the airport and nearby roads while helicopters circled overhead.

The Stop The War Coalition is planning to stage a series of protests at venues Mr Bush will visit in a bid to make their views known one last time before he leaves the world stage.

The Metropolitan Police said they would have a thousand officers deployed on the streets of London on each day of the tour to maintain order.