Best 'unified' the North

Football icon George Best has managed to unite people in the North over the past week in a way that no politician ever could, a British government minister claimed today.

As the Best family prepared for the return of the Manchester United ace’s body to his home city of Belfast, Northern Secretary Peter Hain paid tribute to his genius on the football field and urged the tens of thousands expected to line the city streets for tomorrow’s funeral to keep the family foremost in their thoughts.