Prime Minister slams Tory's David Cameron and George Osbourne

Nov 16 2008 By Mark Aitken Political Editor

GORDON BROWN yesterday slammed the Tories as "irresponsible" over claims he is pushing the pound towards collapse.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne warned increasing state borrowing to fight off recession brings major risks.

He claims sterling is in danger of collapsing.

Yesterday, he was accused of undermining global financial talks by "talking down" the pound.

Brown said: "I now regret the partisan talk from the opposition.

"The Governor of the Bank of England has made it clear it is not only right to cut interest rates but it is perfectly reasonable to have a fiscal stimulus."

Osborne attacked Labour's policies after the pound slipped to a 13-year low of Û1.48 and 1.17euros.

Brown said the agreement by world leaders at the G20 meeting in Washington was "historic."

It means they will act together to reverse the global slump.

He said they now had a "route map" to economic recovery, following his campaign to get them to kick-start their ailing economies with tax cuts.