Gore enters UK's green debate

The competition between the three major parties over the environment is good for Britain, according to the former US presidential candidate Al Gore.

Mr Gore, once Vice-President to Bill Clinton, met David Cameron, the Tory leader, but said that Gordon Brown had the "edge" in the "competitive dialogue" between the parties on green issues.

Visiting politicians are supposed to avoid engaging political controversy, but Mr Gore said Mr Brown had a "tremendous advantage" over Mr Cameron because of his "incredible, unparalleled analytical ability... to understand the way that government interacts with society, and apply that to this worldwide crisis."

Earlier, Mr Gore said on BBC Radio that he believed the US would change its approach to environmental issues because "enough people come to the conclusion this is a moral issue".

Mr Gore is touring to promote a film on the challenges facing the world on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth.