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Minister's comment undermines Brown at G20 summit
His comment c
With Mr Brown midway through a 17,500-mile trip to prepare for the summit on 2 April, Lord Malloch-Brown, a Foreign Office minister, said: "The global economy is going to go on descending on 3 April; the massive destruction of wealth that is going on is not going to be stopped by any leaders' communiqué.
"We are in for a very tough 2009 under any circumstances, including a successful G20 summit."
His remarks are the latest to puncture the hype Mr Brown has built up around the event.
Earlier this week, Mervyn King, the Bank of England governor, warned the government against a second "fiscal stimulus" – a massive burst of extra spending and borrowing – in an attempt to help the UK economy snap out of recession.
The Prime Minister has spent the past month meeting leaders including Barack Obama, the United States president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Yesterday he was in Brazil, meeting politicians and the football legend Socrates. Mr Brown had flown in from Washington, where he had met Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, and today he heads for the Chilean capital, Santiago.
But in an interview in London, Lord Malloch-Brown, a former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, warned that the G20 summit had to achieve more than last year's meeting in Washington.
"We can't again engage in meaningless, empty commitments which don't survive the flight home," he said.
He also laid bare the government's difficulties, saying: "Incumbency is hell nowadays. Just about every government is struggling with terrible opinion polls and very angry people."
Eric Pickles, the Conservative Party chairman, said: "With Gordon Brown out of the country, another of his ministers has dared to tell the truth about the failings of the Prime Minister's leadership and his stewardship of the economy."
The row came as Britain was found to have slipped down the European league table of productivity, from seventh to 12th.
Mr Darling emphasised the importance of the G20 summit, saying a bigger impact would be achieved if all leaders agreed to co-ordinate fiscal stimulus schemes in their own countries.
"The need for countries to act together is essential, which is why next week is an important step along the way," he said.
The Chancellor faced Tory accusations that Mr King had "let the cat out of the bag" when he revealed the UK's national debt was so high that a second fiscal stimulus was beyond its means.
This warning was interpreted as endorsing the cautious approach to another spending splurge that Mr Darling is thought to have adopted, in contrast to the more aggressive intervention being urged by the Prime Minister.
But Mr Darling told MPs he and the Governor had agreed to do "whatever was necessary, for as long as necessary".
Asked if he had confidence in Mr King, he sidestepped the question, saying only that he and the Governor were in "complete agreement" on measures he had announced last November, such as the £12 billion cut in VAT.
Analysis
IT DOES not take anarchist demonstrators to sabotage the G20 – not when ministers and officials appear to have beaten them to it.
Lord Malloch-Brown, the Foreign Office minister charged with organising the global talkfest, became the latest weapon of self-destruction to explode in Gordon Brown's government yesterday. In remarks that underline his nickname as the undiplomatic diplomat, he cautioned against engaging again in "meaningless, empty commitments which don't survive the flight home".
Given that he is the minister in charge of the preparations for next week's summit, this is akin to organising a wedding, sending out the invites and then slagging off the guests before they even arrive.
His timing was a gift for the Conservatives, coming while the Prime Minister is playing the global statesman on a tour of Latin America. At home, his minister did something unforgivable, speaking honestly about the struggle facing the government, describing it as "hell".
Lord Malloch-Brown also gave a frank assessment of the recession, saying: "The global economy is going to go on descending on 3 April. The massive destruction of wealth that is going on is not going to be stopped by any leaders' communiqué."
The Prime Minister has gone from trumpeting the summit as a potential rescue package for the world, to playing down its prospects. Even if Lord Malloch-Brown was trying to be helpful by "managing down" expectations, this was not what the Prime Minister needed after Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, derailed his Budget plans by warning against excessive spending.
The Prime Minister will be kicking himself that on a day he was to meet Brazilian football hero Socrates, his minister back home was scoring own goals.
Wisdom of Socrates ends that 1982 goal controversy
GORDON Brown shared a joke with Brazilian football legend Socrates yesterday about the day he led the team that beat Scotland.
The Prime Minister met the sporting hero as he toured a football museum in Sao Paulo.
Socrates captained the Brazil team that took on Scotland in the opening match of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
In the crowd was a young Mr Brown, who was delighted to see his countrymen score first.
"My best moment of the match was seeing the first goal, and thinking that Scotland might pull it off," he told the footballer.
"Then I saw Brazil score four."
Despite his team losing 4-1, Mr Brown insisted he had appreciated the quality of the opposition.
Scotland's goal – a long-range effort from David Narey – was mistakenly described by commentator Jimmy Hill as a "toe poke".
But Socrates settled matters once and for all, confirming: "It was a good goal."
Alongside his team at the football museum at Pacaembu Stadium, Mr Brown also watched children train and unveiled plans for closer ties between the English and Brazilian football associations.
Brazilian referees will be trained by experts from England and young domestic players could be educated in South American flair.
The two countries have also agreed to share their logistical and security experiences from hosting the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
James Tapsfield
Brazil's leader blames 'white people with blue eyes' for crisis
THE president of Brazil last night claimed the global economic crisis had been caused by "white blue-eyed people" during a visit by Gordon Brown.
Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva said he had never met a black banker.
"This is a crisis that was caused by people, white with blue eyes. And before the crisis they looked as if they knew everything about economics." Mr Da Silva told a joint press conference with the Prime Minister in Brasilia.
Mr Da Silva, who is white, stressed that Brazil's banking system had been well regulated, and added: "Once again the great part of the poor in the world that were still not yet (getting) their share of development that was caused by globalisation, they were the first ones to suffer."
He added: "Since I am not acquainted with any black bankers, I can only say that this part of humanity that is the major victim of the world crisis."
Mr Brown is visiting Brazil to build consensus for co-ordinated action by the G20 countries to tackle the credit crunch.
"Literally thousands of businesses who want to trade around the world are being prevented from doing so by the absence of trade credit available to them," Mr Brown said.
"I'm going to ask the G20 next week to support a global expansion of trade finance of at least $100 billion."
His aides said that 90 per cent of trade among developing nations such as Brazil, which is the world's ninth largest economy, depended on credit.
Downing Street views Brazil as a key ally in getting agreement in London next week. Its economy had been growing quickly until exports slumped amid the turmoil.
Mr Brown will visit Chile later today.
Friday, 27 March 2009
Published Date: 27 March 2009
GORDON Brown's hopes of using next week's G20 summit to secure a global fightback against the credit crunch were severely undermined yesterday by the man he put in charge of organising the event.
Lord Malloch-Brown, the former diplomat brought into the government by the Prime Minister, said the London gathering of world leaders would do little to reverse the collapse in financial markets that has thrown millions out of work.ame as Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, told MPs the government may have to continue to pump vast sums into the economy for the next three years to help a million people at risk of losing their jobs.
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