Brown praises Washington summit
Gordon Brown has praised this weekend’s Washington summit, saying international action is fundamental to overcoming the economic crisis.
Speaking to the Commons, Mr Brown said: “In just over six months the world has seen a 40 per cent [drop] in global share values.
“These unprecedented global events call for unprecedented global action.”
The prime minister said the summit had agreed to improve transparency of tax havens, bring about convergence of banking standards, review the bonus system and reform the potential for conflicts of interest in credit rating agencies.
“At the roots of the crisis is a failure by banks to manage risks,” Mr Brown said.
He also said countries all over the world were following the UK’s lead when it came to dealing with the crisis.
“The summit also agreed recapitalisation was the right course of action and the action we’ve taken in the UK has now been followed in every continent of the world,” he said.
The summit also agreed to resist a return to protectionism, he argued.
David Cameron asked Mr Brown: “If Britain is so well prepared can he explain why the IMF thinks the British economy will sink faster than any other economy in the world?”
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