The $1trillion slice of history
Gordon Brown marked the 'beginning of the end' of the recession yesterday as he announced world leaders had agreed a deal to inject more than $1trillion into global markets.
The prime minister said the package would save millions of jobs around the world and prevent a similar economic crisis happening again.
However, although the deal was hailed as a turning point there was no sign of the 'fiscal stimulus' which Mr Brown and Barack Obama had sought.
Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the G20 summit agreement would seem 'very remote' to ordinary people hit by the recession.
'It does not contain a single extra dollar or a single extra pound of fiscal stimulus,' he added.
The total package is worth $1.1trillion, which equates to £746billion and could quadruple the funds available to the International Monetary Fund to help struggling countries.
Another $100billion is being set aside to help the worlds poorest countries. Mr Brown said the cash was in addition to the $5trillion earmarked governments around the world in their own 'fiscal stimulus' measures by the end of 2010.
The deal also included measures to tighten financial regulation and a crackdown on tax havens.
As G20 chairman Mr Brown was supposed to make the announcement at London's ExCeL Centre.
But French president Nicolas Sarkozy started talking before him and could be heard from within the main hall where Mr Brown was speaking. However, Mr Brown insisted: 'This is the day that the world came together to fight back against global recession, not with words, but with a plan for global recovery.' 
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