Whats the best digital SLR camera and lens for general use? Budget 900 GBP?

Best camera

I'd try to get a used Canon 20D. If you could get in your price range, nothing else comes close in quality at that price. 30D is coming out, so you may be able to find some used 20Ds floating around for cheaper...

I love the Canon Digital Rebels. They are simple enough for the novice camera user and Advanced enough for Photographers. The photo quality of even the first ones that came out are AMAZING! And the prices are lowering everyday.

It depends really on what you are looking for. If you want a camera that is backwards compatible with SLR lenses (i.e. you can use lenses from new cameras or lenses from cameras made 50 years ago) I would go with a Pentax. Any lens made by pentax will fit any SLR camera made by Pentax, whether film or digital. This leaves the potential for picking up great glass at a great price.

If you are just looking for a great intro camera, try the Pentax *ist DL. The cheapest and lightest DSLR camera out there.

If you want high resolution (8 megapixels +) you may want a canon or a nikon, since pentax has not gone past 6.1 megapixels with their DSLR's. Although that really isn't too big of a deal.

In general though, the image quality between the major camera manufacturers is similar. You really won't notice the differences unless you are really looking for them.