PM urges US to spearhead reforms

On the final day of his official visit to the United States, the Prime Minister said that there was the opportunity for a "new dawn in collaborative action" between Europe and America.

In a keynote foreign policy address at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, he urged them to work together to overhaul the post-Second World War structures of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

His call for multilateral action is likely to be seen as a rejection of the unilateralism of the administration of President George Bush, which always deeply distrusted the UN.

During his visit, Mr Brown met the three leading contenders to succeed Bush - John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - and his speech was pitched as a direct appeal to them to take up the cause.

"American leadership is and will be indispensable he said.

"And now is an opportunity for an historic effort in co-operation; a new dawn in collaborative action between America and Europe - a new commitment from Europe that I believe all European leaders can work with America to forge stronger transatlantic links.

"For I sense common ground between our two great continents in the urgent need for renewal and reform."

His comments reflect a belief that the current generation of leaders in France, Germany, and Italy are now prepared to move forward on institutional reform.

At the same time, he said that the emerging nations such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil should be given a greater say in organisations like the G8, the IMF and the World Bank.