German president compares UK ties post-Brexit to Oasis

Germany's president has drawn a parallel between his country's ties with the UK post-Brexit to the recent reunion of the famously feuding Oasis brothers.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier told MPs and peers that disappointment and uncertainty had followed the UK split from the EU but both sides had decided "not to stay stuck in these feelings".

"Don't Look Back in Anger, as one of the most famous songs by Oasis puts it so well," he said in Parliament on the second day of his state visit.

He later visited the V&A Museum's David Bowie Centre, in a nod to the musician's strong ties to Berlin.

He began his visit - the first by a German leader in 27 years - on Wednesday with a ceremonial reception by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and a star-studded festive banquet at Windsor Castle.

He used remarks at this event and his trip to Parliament to stress the improving relations between his nation and the UK since Brexit in 2020.

"I think that is typically British, keep calm and carry on - look ahead pragmatically, move on," Steinmeier said in the House of Parliament's Royal Gallery on Thursday afternoon.

He later returned to the riff on Oasis at the end of his speech, remarking on the band's sell-out reunion tour after 16 years of acrimony between frontman Liam Gallagher and his guitarist brother Noel.

"Cool Britannia is alive! Our relations may have changed, but, my dear Britons, our love remains," he said. "So let us look not to the past, but rather together to the future."

Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender were then joined by UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy at the Victoria and Albert Museum's East Storehouse, where the museum's archive has been put on display - including some of pop star David Bowie's costumes and instruments.

Bowie had strong associations with Berlin, having lived and worked in the city in the 1970s.

They later joined the Lady Mayor of the City of London, Dame Susan Langley, for an evening banquet at the Guildhall, with the Princess Royal also in attendance.

Earlier in the day, the pair had left Windsor Castle for London - though not before being shown Queen Victoria's winter sleigh, designed by her German-born husband Prince Albert in 1842, and attending a charity reception.

They visited Westminster Abbey and laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, which symbolises those who died serving in World War One, particularly those who were not buried.

The final day of his state visit on Friday will see Steinmeier visit the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, bombed by the German air force during World War Two, in a symbolic gesture of reconciliation.

This mirrors a visit to Hamburg during the UK state visit to Germany, when King Charles laid a wreath remembering the civilian casualties of wartime Allied bombing raids.

He will also receive an honorary degree from Oxford University, on a trip in which he will learn about medical research at the university.