Brown avoids apologising for recession

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ducked the chance to apologise for the recession despite a call from his chancellor to show "humility" over its role in the economic crisis.

Alistair Darling used a newspaper interview to claim there was a "collective responsibility" for the way the bonus culture in the banks had been allowed to develop, saying: "All of us have to have the humility to accept that over the last few years, things got out of alignment."