Sarkozy says sorry to Brown over VAT cut comments

French President Nicolas Sarkozy today attempted to restore the Entente Cordiale with Britain after attacking Gordon Brown's crisis VAT cut as a failure.

The remarks in a French television interview five days ago embarrassed the Prime Minister and were seized on by the Tories as fresh ammunition, reinforcing Opposition claims that the Government's tax cuts would not provide the desired boost to the economy.

Today, the Elysee Palace issued a statement heaping praise on Mr Brown and explaining that the President has been in touch with Downing Street to "deplore the manner in which his remarks about the British economy have been reported in the UK".

The statement emphasised the French President's personal esteem for Mr Brown "and in particular for the key role he played in drawing up the common crisis response we are currently working on".

The statement said the two men were working together on Europe's response to a global economic crisis and "France and the UK are going in the same direction - the two countries have adopted the necessary measures to recapitalise their banking systems, rejecting the theory of those who believe that we can simply wait for the recession to ease without action".

It added: "France and the UK are now working closely together on the next stage of our common response - re-establishing lending to individuals and businesses.

"President Sarkozy has confirmed (to Mr Brown) how much he is looking forward to continuing to work closely with the Prime Minister in the months and years to come."

The bid to draw a line under the spat came as Chancellor Alastair Darling was meeting his French counterpart at talks in Brussels on the economic crisis. But officials said the Chancellor was unlikely to raise the issue of Britain's VAT cut.

Mr Darling said today that it was up to each country to decide its own national response to the crisis, although preferably in close co-operation with other EU countries.

In his television interview, Mr Sarkozy declared: "Britain is cutting taxes. That will bring them nothing. Consumption continues to decrease."

Downing Street later said French officials had clarified that the comments were not meant as a "critique" of UK policy. But the President's clear comment that the UK's VAT cut had "absolutely not worked" was taken as a rebuttal of Mr Brown's stand.

The two men became close during the French EU Presidency as the economic crisis erupted last autumn. They consulted closely, prompting President Sarkozy to deliver the first invitation to a British Prime Minister to attend and address talks between the EU countries in the eurozone.

The broad EU approach to tackling the crisis overseen by Mr Sarkozy was fundamentally developed by Mr Brown.

Today, officials in Brussels suggested that Mr Sarkozy was trying to rebuild bridges not just in the UK but across Europe, having irritated the UK and upset the Czech Republic by urging French companies based there to restore some French jobs instead of giving jobs to workers in other countries.

The remark drew comparisons with Mr Brown's own "British jobs for British workers" - reinforcing the claim that London and Paris are still singing from the same hymn sheet.