Brown meets with central bank chief

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown met the head of the central bank on Monday to discuss how London can take a lead role in reforming the global financial system, a government spokesman said.

Brown was joined at the talks by chancellor Alistair Darling, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King and the head of the financial regulator Adair Turner for talks about the outcome of last week's summit of G20 leaders in London.

"They agreed on the importance of pushing ahead with the implementation of the G20 conclusions, both internationally and in Britain," Brown's spokesman said in a statement. "Reform of the financial system was an urgent priority for the global economy and Britain would take the lead."

Good progress was made on how to provide direct support to the sectors worst affected by the toughest economic conditions since the 1930s, including the car industry, the statement added.

More talks will be held on Tuesday with major lenders to discuss financial system reform and ways to increase bank lending, the spokesman said.

At last Thursday's G20 summit of leading industrial and developing economies in London, world leaders clinched a $1.1 trillion (747 billion pound) deal to combat the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and said financial rules would be tightened.

The summit promised a crackdown on jurisdictions that failed to cooperate in cross-border tax evasion cases.

Pushed by France and Germany, the G20 agreed that countries should sign up to global rules on sharing tax information or risk being placed on a blacklist.

A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times showed Brown's Labour Party had cut the Conservative lead to seven points as voters expressed their approval of the $1.1 trillion global economic stimulus package. Brown must go to the polls by mid-2010.

(Reporting by Peter Griffiths; Editing by Ron Askew)