G20 package "no overnight fix" British minister warns

Apr 3, 2009, 13:30 GMT

London - The G20 summit package aimed at tackling the global recession will provide no 'overnight fix,' Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, warned Friday.

'You cannot oversell what happened ... nor can you undersell it,' said Darling, one of the chief architects of the 1.1-trillion-dollar plan.

However, he was convinced that the measures would 'shorten what would otherwise be a long and painful recession.'

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown Friday won widespread praise for what he himself termed the creation of a 'new world order' through the G20 agreement.

The world leaders' summit had 'stopped the rot' in the global economy, said top Liberal politician Vince Cable Friday, who has been a strong critic of Brown on domestic economic policy.

'The world is a different place today, I think it's better,' said Cable, who is the finance spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrat Party.

The Conservatives, however, urged Brown to 'clear up the economic mess' in Britain caused by his government's policies.

Meanwhile, financial markets appeared to pause for breath Friday following a sharp rally after announcement of the G20 agreement in London Thursday.

In London, the benchmark FTSE-Index was down by 30 points at lunchtime Friday, after rising by 4 per cent the previous day.

However, the index remained above the crucial 4,000 barrier, which it soared above Thursday for the first time since February.