Brown-Bush 'won't be joined at hip'

Lord Malloch Brown, a prominent critic of the US whose appointment by the Prime Minister raised eyebrows, also insisted Britain had to nurture a wider range of allies than just America.

His comments come as Mr Brown is due to visit Washington within weeks and follow Downing Street's denial that the new premier is trying to distance himself from the US.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the former deputy secretary general of the United Nations suggested that the relationship between Mr Blair and Mr Bush was determined by events.

"For better of worse, it is very unlikely that the Brown/Bush relationship is going to go through the baptism of fire and therefore be joined together at the hip like the Blair/Bush relationship was," he said.

"That was a relationship born of being war leaders together. There was an emotional intensity of being war leaders with much of the world against them that is enough to put you on your knees and get you praying together."

Lord Malloch Brown, whose peerage came with the surprise job offer this month, rejected his "anti-American" reputation but added: "I am quite happy to be described as anti-neo-con. If they see me as a villain, I will wear that as a badge of honour."

He went on to say that British foreign policy was at an "historic juncture" and should reach out more to European partners alongside the US.

"We have a whole set of emerging countries. There will be lots of exciting things to do with Sarkozy and Merkel and other European leaders as well as the transatlantic relationship."

But he predicted good relations with Washington would continue, pointing to a shift in US foreign policy and claiming that he was US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's "favourite multinationalist Brit".