Gordon Brown has said the "special relationship" between Britain and the US is stronger than ever.

The Prime Minister discussed the war in Iraq, the Zimbabwe crisis, Iran and the continued threat of terrorism in talks with the president at the White House.

But economic gloom on both sides of the Atlantic topped the agenda, the Prime Minister said in a joint news conference.

Mr Brown said: "We agreed our determination that in advance of the July G8 meeting in Japan, where all the major economies will meet together, we will do everything in our power to ensure economic stability and growth."

The group of eight industrialized nations - the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia - is due to hold a summit in Japan in July.

The Prime Minister added: "We should be vigilant in maintaining the pro-active approach to monetary and fiscal policy to enable our economies to resume their paths of upward growth.

"We want all our international partners to do the same."

Asked about the US economy, Mr Bush admitted: "We're in a rough patch right now".

He added he was hopeful legislation to stimulate consumer spending by giving rebates to taxpayers would soon bear fruit, saying: "It's beginning to kick in a bit, but the programme hasn't really taken effect."

President Bush repeated his determination to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and said success in Iraq would hurt terrorists who support insurgents.

Mr Brown told the conference: "The world owes President George Bush a huge debt of gratitude for leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism."

He added: "The bond between our two countries is stronger than ever."

The Prime Minister earlier said he is "absolutely confident" he can work with any of the three US senators hoping to succeed Mr Bush as president.

He met Republican John McCain and Democrat rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at the British Embassy in Washington on the second day of his official visit to the US.

He said: "I am absolutely confident that, having talked to the three candidates, the special relationship between our two countries is strong and secure and valued by all of them."

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