THE QUEEN visited York for the first time in 12 years yesterday to attend a
special service of celebration in the minster.
Wearing a lime green hat and coat, she was welcomed by a traditional
ceremony at the city's gates. Greeted by the Lord Mayor, Shan Braund, she
was invited to touch the state sword before passing through the city walls.
At the minster, the Queen and Prince Philip attended a service for the
Northern Province of the Church of England to celebrate the new Millennium.
The sermon was given by the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope.
Dr Hope referred to the rural areas and farming communities which "need and
deserve our strongest support". He said: "Their communities, like the miners
and the shipbuilders, the weavers of wool and the spinners of cotton before
them, are now in crisis. Care for our communities just as care for creation
must be a priority for us all."
Afterwards, the Queen and Prince Philip went on a walkabout. The Prince
stopped several times to lift children with flowers for the Queen over police
barriers, before pointing them in the right direction. At the city's Assembly
Rooms they were greeted by 100 guests and saw an exhibition charting the
city's history.
After lunch in the Treasurer's House, they visited an exhibition in the
Yorkshire Museum based on BBC documentary Walking with Dinosaurs,
which included models used in the natural history series.
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'Mercy' Release Sparks Outrage(Yahoo: Belfast Telegraph)
PETER Mandelson was under growing political pressure today to explain why the Queen was asked to
take the extraordinary step of signing a royal warrant of mercy for an IRA killer..
Politicians and victims have expressed outrage after the Belfast Telegraph revealed yesterday that
Docklands bomber James McArdle will go free tomorrow under a Royal Prerogative of Mercy..
Buckingham Palace has confirmed the Queen signed the Royal Prerogative of Mercy "on the advice of
her ministers"..
McArdle (31) was not due to walk free from the Maze Prison before next March under the Agreement until the Secretary of
State's personal intervention..
The south Armagh republican is serving sentences for the Canary Wharf explosion in London which ended the IRA 's ceasefire
in 1996 and for his part in IRA sniper attacks..
Ihsan Bashir (34), whose 29-year-old brother Inam was killed in the Canary Wharf attack, said he could not understand why
Mr Mandelson had sanctioned McArdle's release..
He said: "If it had been one of Tony Blair's children that had been killed, would he have allowed the killers to walk free?.
"I don't think so. He is just ignoring what we have suffered - for a place in history.".
Conservative Northern Ireland spokesman Andrew Mackay said the affair would be raised in the House of Commons today
after the Belfast Telegraph disclosure..
In its editorial, the Daily Telegraph rounded on Peter Mandelson describing him as "an arrogant, unpopular and out of touch
minister"..
Lambasting the release of McArdle, it said the government "must be made to pay a terrible political price for it"..
The Daily Mail said with McArdle's release "we are witnessing the poisoning of British justice"..
Meanwhile, three INLA prisoners serving prison terms for the murder of Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright inside the
Maze Prison have decided against taking a judicial review in a bid to win release tomorrow..
The trio, including Christopher 'Crip' McWilliams, were told by a solicitor last night that they would need to apply for a mercy
release first but they are refusing to do so "on principle"..
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Stars bring sparkle to palace party for war veterans(Yahoo: Ananova)
The Princess Royal enlisted the help of the stars when she met war veterans at a Buckingham Palace
garden party.
Sir Norman Wisdom, Max Bygraves, Warren Mitchell, Lonnie Donegan, Jess Conrad, Dora Bryan,
the Beverley Sisters, Bert Weedon, Andrew Sachs, Brian Conley, Paul Daniels, Bill Pertwee and
Esther Rantzen were among the many celebrities at the Not Forgotten Association garden party.
With the Princess, they greeted some 700 war pensioners, most in their late 70s and some more than 100 years old.
Almost every year since 1921, the association has been allowed to hold a summer garden party in Buckingham Palace grounds.
"This year we have 15 First World War veterans each over 100 years old," said events secretary Rosie Stewart. But there are
also younger veterans from the Second World War, Northern Ireland, the Falklands and the Gulf.
"We provide an entertainments programme throughout the year - holidays, days out, boat trips, concerts, a Christmas party at
St James's Palace."
The association was launched to help disabled ex-servicemen and women after the First World War.
In March 1921, Princess Mary became the first patron and continued her support until her death in 1965. Since then, the
Duchess of Kent has been patron.
The band of the Blues and Royals provided music on the Palace lawn and servicemen and women from HMS St Vincent,
Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards, RAF Uxbridge and the London military Air Traffic Control Centre assisted.
Pipers of the Scots Guards Association (Berks and Bucks) played before the Blues and Royals Beat Retreat.