Brown in credit crunch talks

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting Wall Street bankers to discuss the global financial crisis.

During his three-day official visit to the US, Mr Brown will also meet President George W Bush and the three main contenders to succeed him at the White House.

He has already discussed ways of boosting confidence in the housing market with British bank chiefs and said he was determined to keep the UK economy on track.

"The key priority for the Prime Minister, as he has been making clear in recent days, will be the economy," said a senior British official.

"It will be an opportunity for the Prime Minister to hear direct from the US financial community their views and assessment of the current situation."

As well as the Wall Street figures, Mr Brown will also meet New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, and on Friday he will hold talks with the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke.

The concentration on the economy reflects the concern within Whitehall that the global credit crunch is increasingly threatening the "real economy" and with it the Government's own prospects.

Mr Brown leaves behind him a deeply uneasy Labour Party, trailing the Tories in the opinion polls and braced for heavy losses in next month's local government elections.

In a television interview he was forced to deny that his own position was on the the line, declaring: "I'm starting a job that I mean to continue."

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