'The economy is safe in our hands'

Last Modified: 19 Dec 2007
By: Gary Gibbon, Faisal Islam

Brown and Darling defend their handling of Northern Rock and the credit crunch.

Don't worry - the fundamentals of the British economy remain sound, Gordon Brown declared today, as he insisted the country would be able to 'weather' financial turbulence across the world.

The Prime Minister - flanked by the Chancellor throughout his regular monthly press conference - also defended his handling of the Northern Rock crisis, firmly pinning the blame for what had happened to the bank's Board and the financial services authority.

But there's an unpredictable economic outlook haunting Mr Brown this Christmas - as our political editor, Gary Gibbon, reports.

But from subprime housing markets to the credit crunch - concerns about economic stability are growing around the world. So can Britain really withstand the storm as readily as the Prime Minister and Chancellor claimed? Our economic correspondent Faisal Islam reports tonight.

Watch Faisal Islam's report

Watch the interview

You can watch Jon Snow interview Alistair Darling here

Alistair Darling interview

It's been a difficult six months for the Chancellor it could be an even tougher six months to come.

Jon Snow went round to Number 11 earlier today for an exclusive interview with Mr Darling, to ask him about the economy - but began with the Northern Rock.