Britain says not bound to back Strauss-Kahn for IMF

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would not be bound by a European Union deal to back former French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the International Monetary Fund.

A British Treasury spokesman said EU finance ministers had taken no formal decision to nominate a candidate and Britain, which argued the nomination process should be opened up to other areas of the world, might back someone else.

The Portuguese EU presidency said the 27 ministers agreed to support the respected, multilingual Socialist economist for the position, which Europeans have always held under an arrangement whereby the World Bank is also always headed by an American.

"The UK is not bound by any agreement on Dominique Strauss-Kahn....there has been no formal agreement," a spokesman travelling with Chancellor Alistair Darling said.

Darling himself said Strauss-Kahn was a credible candidate, but the spokesman said Britain wanted "an open and transparent process" for appointing the next IMF chief.