Sarkozy critical of Brown's 'mistakes'

Friday, 6 February 2009 12:00 AM

By Laura Miller

Anglo-French relations took a knock last night after Nicolas Sarkozy publicly criticised Gordon Brown's handling of the economic crisis.

Mr Sarkozy vowed not to repeat Britain's "mistakes" in reacting to the financial downturn, and with an emphatic flourish added that Mr Brown's VAT cut had "absolutely not worked", across three channels of French TV during a 90 minute broadcast.

Downing Street was unimpressed by the outburst. A No 10 spokesman hinted at the irritation it caused, saying: "The Élysée have been in contact this morning to assure us that these remarks were not meant as a critique of UK economic policy - which is nice."

The apology for any unintentional offence, and assurances that his comments were not meant as an attack on British economic policy, came in a call from the French president earlier this morning.

The Tories were quick to capitalise on the cross-channel faux pas.

In an unusually pro-European move, shadow chancellor George Osborne cast the Conservatives alongside French president Sarkozy and against Gordon Brown's policies for tackling the recession.

"We said at the time that Brown's flagship VAT cut would only make things worse and would be an expensive failure. That view is now echoed not just by British retailers, but by foreign governments, including France, Germany and Holland," said Mr Osborne.

"Gordon Brown claims to have saved the world. It would appear that world leaders increasingly disagree," he added.

A week after nationwide protests and strikes over the way he has managed the economy, Mr Sarkozy had organised the television appearance to defend his measures for perking up the French economy.

The president pushed to assure viewers that his state intervention with banks has so far not hit taxpayers' pockets.

Other proposals included a ban on bonuses for executives of failing banks bailed out by the state, getting rid of a local business tax in 2010, and the possibility of cutting income tax.

On Monday, prime minister Francois Fillon announced a 26 billion euro (£23.5bn) initiative designed to "revitalise" the economy.

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