Brown makes light of bank worries

He might be facing the worst economic crisis for almost 80 years, but the prime minister has shown he can still manage a joke. When Gordon Brown, hit by financial problems, heard a mobile phone ring during a speech, he quipped: "I don't know if another bank has fallen." For good measure, he added: "You'll be pleased I'll not be giving financial information this evening." The government has announced up to £400bn extra for the banking sector. Power lists Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Brown said this plan was "designed to put the British banking system on a sounder footing". Altogether more relaxed, he made his joke later at a dinner for the launch of the Powerlist 2008, a celebration of the... [read full story]