Gordon Brown's hopes of forging a united response to the global recession at today's G20 summit were thrown into jeopardy when France and Germany demanded much tougher rules for the financial system to prevent a repeat of the crisis.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, also rebuffed a plea by Barack Obama for them to stimulate their economies further to help kick-start a worldwide recovery.
The surprise Franco-German offensive, launched at a joint press conference in London last night, left Mr Brown, as the summit chairman, battling to broker a deal ahead of the critical meeting at the ExCeL Centre in London's Docklands. Over a working dinner of the G20 leaders at Downing Street last night, the Prime Minister was trying to persuade emerging economies, particularly China, to swallow some of France and Germany's demands on financial regulation.
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