December 16

Talks between Mr Gorbachev and the Prime Minister have been successful

England have

Mikhail Gorbachev, the man widely tipped as the next leader of the Soviet Union, has spent five hours in "very friendly" talks with the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, according to British Government officials.

But Soviet officials described the talks much less enthusiastically as "business-like".

Topics discussed at Mrs Thatcher's country residence Chequers included ending the arms war and improving communications between the Eastern Bloc and the West.

It came after Mr Gorbachev signalled his desire for reduced tensions when he arrived at Heathrow airport yesterday.

"Opportunities for the prevention of nuclear war exist. These opportunities must be used to the full," he said yesterday.

But talks between Mrs Thatcher and the second-in-command at the Kremlin did not includecontentiousissues such as human rights in the Communist state.

Official sources remained tight-lipped on the exact exchange of words but did reveal the two delegations did not agree on the causes of world problems but were united on the importance of diffusing them.

The meeting lasted longer than expected and it is understood Mr Gorbachev gave Mrs Thatcher a private message from the country's president Konstantin Chernenko.

It outlined the Soviet Union's commitment to arms talks with America which will be held in three weeks' time.

Today's talks appear to signal a thaw in relations between the West and the Soviet Union.

The visit itself is a significant development in the relationship between Britain and the USSR as Mr Gorbachev is the first Russian politician of his stature to visit in 28 years.

His eight day stay is the longest any statesman from behind the iron curtain has stayed in the West.

Once the talking was over Mr Gorbachev and his wife Raisa have also enjoyed sightseeing in London, visiting the library from where Lenin first produced his newspaper in 1903.

The couple, followed by a large security entourage, also visited the British Library and saw the seat where Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital.   

The Queen said this was an important stage in the story of London Airport

Her Majesty arrived by car with the Duke of Edinburgh and was greeted by a guard of honour made up of air crews from the British and Commonwealth airlines, headed by BOAC Captain JT Percy.

The daughter of the Minister of Transport, Sarah Boyd-Carpenter, presented Her Majesty with flowers from around the world that had been flown in by four Commonwealth airlines.

The name of the new buildings was only revealed at the end of the Queen's speech as she unveiled a plaque naming it "The Queen's Building".

The Queen wore an air force blue coat, with a grey hat and a diamond brooch on her lapel in the shape of the BOAC Speedbird emblem.

In her speech she said: "The inauguration of this great terminal today marks an important stage in the story of London Airport.

"In the ten years which have passed since the earliest development of this site, the airport has grown in size and in international fame.

"Until today we may say with pride that it ranks among the foremost in the world.

Whatever form air travel may take in the future, and we may be certain that striking changes lie ahead, London Airport will I am sure continue to grow in importance as one of the world centres of air traffic."

The Queen's Building houses the airlines' offices and the main entrance for visitors to the airport. It also boasts a post office, cinema, roof gardens, lecture hall and grill room.

It forms part of the new central terminal that has been in use since April and comprises the passenger Europa building and the new control tower.

London Airport was officially opened on 31 May 1946. The first arrival was a BOAC Lancastrian from Australia.

There was no passenger terminal and travellers had to wait for their planes in a temporary tent village on the north side of the airfield.

The tents were replaced with prefabricated concrete villages as building work began on permanent structures to handle the thousands of passengers using the airport.

contentious: involving or likely to cause controversy（爭論的；有爭議的）