Britain 'may need international loan'

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Simon Johnson said that Britain could benefit from the fund's lines of credit to get it balancing its books again.

"The point is that's the time to turn your policies around - with all due respect to Gordon Brown and his ministers, they need some help right now. The UK economy is in big trouble," Mr Johnson told Channel 4 News.

He added that unlike the Seventies, when chancellor Denis Healey went to Washington for IMF help, countries no longer had to be "desperate" to take "pre-emptive lines of credit". Western European nations needed to ask for help before they got into trouble, he said.

Mr Johnson's remarks came after Mr Brown played down suggestions from ministers that there was no longer any "stigma" attached to seeking help from the IMF. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said last night: "I don't think we are going to be first in the queue."