Mulroney in London to revitalize Canada-UK ties

Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney arrived in London for an official visit Sunday saying he wanted to put new life into Canada's long relationship with Britain. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Tuesday and lunch with Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday before flying on to the Western summit meeting in Bonn.

Arriving from Ottawa at London's Heathrow Airport, Mulroney said: ``The United Kingdom is one of our mother countries. The most important cornerstone of Canadian foreign policy is the rebuilding and revitalizing of that relationship. It has always been very good and we want to make it very much better.''

Mulroney, who was swept to power in a landslide election victory last year, was said by officials in Canada to have struck up a warm relationship with Thatcher when they met in March at the funeral of Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko.

One official said there had been a ``striking chemistry'' between the two, who are both Conservatives.

Thatcher and former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, a Liberal, were often at odds in summits and bilateral meetings.

Mulroney, 46, and his wife, Mila, were met at the airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Lady Young. The official work of the visit starts tomorrow with a lunch for businessmen and a visit to London's financial markets.

He will see Thatcher at a reception in the evening before getting down to formal talks on Tuesday, followed by a banquet.