Brown arrives in New Delhi on economic mission

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown arrived in New Delhi today on the second leg of his most far-flung diplomatic mission since taking over at Number 10.

Mr Brown flew in for his two-day visit to India from Shanghai, on his first trip to the subcontinent as Prime Minister.

He is due to have initial talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over dinner tonight after meeting business leaders and attending an event designed to highlight the role of women in emerging countries.

Mr Brown will also use his visit to urge India to join countries engaged in fighting terrorist organisations through stricter financial controls designed to hamper their ability to fund strikes against the west.

He will also use a major speech tomorrow to call for reform of international institutions to meet the needs of the 21st Century.

He was accompanied by a delegation of more than 20 senior industry figures, including Virgin boss Richard Branson.

Branson said yesterday he was still confident he had a “winnable package” which could see his group take over stricken Northern Rock and re-brand it the Virgin Bank.