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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| City has a great future - Brown | City has a great future - Brown |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The City of London has a "great future" despite the current world economic crisis, Gordon Brown has said. | The City of London has a "great future" despite the current world economic crisis, Gordon Brown has said. |
| The prime minister told BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show that the financial sector would be "renewed" by changes being made to banking regulation. | The prime minister told BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show that the financial sector would be "renewed" by changes being made to banking regulation. |
| Mr Brown also said the government had "assured" the future of the system by investing billions of pounds in it. | Mr Brown also said the government had "assured" the future of the system by investing billions of pounds in it. |
| But the Conservatives have warned that there is a danger of creating banks which are "too big to fail". | But the Conservatives have warned that there is a danger of creating banks which are "too big to fail". |
| Several large banks have reported massive losses in recent months, as the effects of the credit crunch continue. | |
| 'Power cut' | |
| The government has bought large parts of Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS and nationalised Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley in an effort to prevent the collapse of the system. | |
| During his question and answer session with Radio 2 listeners, Mr Brown said: "The banking system had what is the equivalent to a power cut." | |
| He added that it was the "right thing to do" to invest in overcoming this, adding: "We are making the right decisions to invest for the future... | |
| "We have taken shares of the banks. We have now assured the [future of the] banks." | |
| Mr Brown said the government had moved to ensure banks free up £50bn more in lending to customers and businesses. | |
| Pressed on whether he was personally responsible for the banking crisis in the UK after presiding over a "light touch" regulatory regime when he was chancellor and lauding financial innovation and "creativity" in the City, he insisted it was a global problem. | |
| But he said: "The City of London has a great future and the City of London will be renewed with proper changes in the way it is organised to accommodate itself to world conditions." | |
| On the credit crunch, the prime minister added: "What happened around the world was something I've been warning of for years." | |
| The size of "global financial flows" had "overwhelmed the national systems of regulation", he said. | |
| The government's temporary reduction of VAT from 17.5% to 15% would ensure "people will not get more in their pocket at the end of the month". |