PM to meet US president over crisis

The surprise White House visit is a last-minute addition to the Prime Minister's schedule on his current trip to the United Nations in New York.

But he warned on Thursday that the turmoil in American banking had consequences for every British family.

It comes as Mr Bush has been desperately trying to persuade Congress to back a 700 billion dollar bail-out of struggling American banks, warning that the economy would otherwise be in serious trouble.

Mr Brown has thrown his weight behind the scheme.

Speaking outside the UN headquarters, where he has been attending an emergency poverty summit, Mr Brown said: "While the problem comes out of America it has consequences for all of us and every family will want to know that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that there is stability.

"And that is stability for people's jobs, for people's mortgages, for people's standards of living."

The White House talks provide a perfect opportunity for Mr Brown to project himself as an international statesman at the end of a week dominated by questions about his leadership at the Labour Party conference.

While the gathering in Manchester was generally united and he made a well-received speech to delegates on Tuesday, it emerged on the final night that Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly was to quit.

Beside the poverty summit, the Prime Minister has been using his New York visit to speak to a host of world leaders and senior Wall Street asset fund managers about the economic situation. He is trying to piece together support for long-term reforms to global financial systems, including worldwide co-operation among national regulators.