The US President, Mr Bush, arrived in London yesterday, en route to his first summit in Genoa of leading industrial nations and Russia.
The president and his wife Laura arrived on Air Force One at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire just before 9 p.m. and were greeted by dignitaries and a fanfare from an RAF band.
They were driven to the London residence of the newly appointed US Ambassador, Mr William Farish.
About 20 demonstrators protesting against Mr Bush's proposed missile defence system waved banners proclaiming "No Star Wars" as his motorcade left the RAF base.
The president is to meet the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, today and is scheduled to meet Pope John Paul II in Rome on Monday.
The six-day visit is Mr Bush's second to Europe since he took office in January.
Mr Bush heads for Europe ready to do battle for his controversial view that two international treaties on missiles and the environment are outdated and flawed.
He fired an opening salvo on Tuesday, telling the BBC he planned to remind Europe that the Cold War is over and the US-Soviet 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty has run its course.
His missile defence shield got a boost on Saturday when an interceptor missile hit a dummy warhead over the Pacific Ocean.
The test was inconclusive, but it provided the Pentagon the opportunity to announce more testing.