Irish president in state visit to UK

Irish President Michael D Higgins has spoken of his country's "deep and enduring" friendship with Britain. Speaking in Westminster during the first state visit to the UK by an Irish head of state, he said both countries could take "immense pride" in their work towards peace in Northern Ireland. But he said there was "still a road to be travelled" to reach lasting peace. Earlier Mr Higgins met the Queen and visited Windsor Castle, and he will return there later for a state banquet. In his speech to both Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster, he said: "I stand here at a time when the relationship between our two islands has, as I have said, achieved a closeness and warmth that once seemed unachievable." Mr Higgins spoke of the "pain and sacrifice" associated with Irish independence from the UK in 1922, which he said cast a "long shadow across our relations". "We acknowledge that past but, even more, we wholeheartedly welcome the considerable achievement of today's reality - the mutual respect, friendship and co-operation which exists between our two countries," he said. Both the UK and Irish national anthems were played as the president arrived at Windsor Castle Mr Higgins stopped at a memorial to Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was killed by an IRA bomb Before his speech, Mr Higgins visited Westminster Abbey and laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior - the tomb of a British soldier of World War One. This is customary on state visits. He and his wife Sabina also stopped to look at a memorial to the Queen's cousin, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was killed by an IRA bomb in 1979. Mr Higgins' trip comes after the Queen became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland three years ago. Then Sinn Fein did not take part, but Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, will attend the banquet hosted by the Queen later. Mr Higgins was greeted at the Irish embassy in London earlier by Prince Charles before heading to Windsor where he shook hands with the Queen and Prince Philip. During his visit, which ends on Friday, he is also due to meet Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street, pay tribute to the work of Irish health professionals, and meet business leaders and London Mayor Boris Johnson. The statesman, who came to England to work as a waiter when he was 21, said his visit would be "very important for the relationships between the people of Ireland and UK". Mr Higgins and the Duke of Edinburgh inspected British soldiers at Windsor Castle He will be joined on the trip by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore. BBC Ireland correspondent Andy Martin said the trip could not have happened 20 years ago because of "lingering acrimony" between the two countries. Our correspondent added that "changed entirely three years ago", when the Queen laid a wreath at a memorial to those who died fighting for Ireland's independence. More than 3,600 people are estimated to have been killed during the Troubles between 1969 and 1998 The Queen set another historic precedent two years ago when she shook hands with Mr McGuinness during a trip to Belfast.