Peter Hoskin

More of the same from Brown

So here it is.  After Cameron’s apology last week, Brown has used his interview in today’s Guardian to hit back with an apology of his own.  Or maybe not.  Truth is, the Prime Minister says he accepts “full responsibility” for his actions, but – as usual – follows it up with a caveat which passes the buck:

“I take full responsibility for all my actions, but I think we’re dealing with a bigger problem that is global in nature, as well as national. Perhaps 10 years ago after the Asian crisis when other countries thought these problems would go away, we should have been tougher … keeping and forcing these issues on to the agenda like we did on debt relief and other issues of international policy.”

It’s almost identical to what he said in his press conference a month ago.  There he claimed that “Our regulatory system has been one of the best, but it is not good enough for our everchanging world,” and he also confessed that he thought his “biggest failure” was not pushing hard enough for a “proper international regulatory system”.  If anything, he went further in his press conference than he does here; admitting that the UK’s regulatory set-up was “too pro-cycical”.  So, a new, concessionary rhetoric from Brown?  Nope.  Just more of the same.

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