Brown rebuffs pressure to move on euro

Gordon Brown said last night he would not be bounced into an early move to join the single currency when he made a passionate defence of his five economic tests for membership.

In his annual Mansion House speech, the Chancellor rebuffed pressure from some pro-euro ministers for "political" issues to be taken into account. "There is no hidden agenda, only a resolution to make the right long-term decisions for Britain in the national economic interest," he said.

Mr Brown's aides said his speech should not be read as pro or anti-euro. But Labour MPs saw it as a reassertion that he, and not Tony Blair, was in charge of the economic assessment. Mr Brown, who described himself as "a pro-European", said euro membership was "perhaps the biggest peacetime economic decision we as a nation have to make ... There will be no fudging or short-circuiting as we measure the effect of the euro on employment, growth, investment and stability."

The pound fell below the level of three old German marks yesterday. The drop ­ to 65.2p to the euro ­ brings the currency to near the levels sought by exporters.

Sir Edward George, governor of the Bank of England, said he welcomed the fall, saying it offered "the prospect of both stronger and more balanced growth," adding: "If consumer demand does not moderate, we will need at some point to raise rates to bring that about."