Gordon Brown has ripped up his travel plans and will divert to Washington today for an emergency summit with George Bush on the global economic crisis.

After a turbulent 48 hours for the financial markets and for Mr Brown, the President revealed that he had cleared time in his diary for the Prime Minister on the day that he hopes to push the $700 billion ($381 billion) bailout of Wall Street through Congress.

News of the meeting came as the Prime Minister also claimed to have secured tentative agreement with a number of world leaders for reform of the international financial system.

He is pushing for a global regulatory system, bigger responsibility on banks’ boards, reform of the bonus system and greater transparency on transactions.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York yesterday, Mr Brown said: “We have got to do everything we can not just for stability now but to make sure that the international financial system is built around the right principles for the future. That’s why I have been meeting all the international leaders who are here, from every continent of the world. That’s why I have been talking to some of the financial people in Wall Street. And that’s why I also wanted to meet President Bush to talk about some of these proposals, to back up the action that he is taking.”

In one of his most punishing weeks since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Brown has met dozens of world leaders, businessmen and regulators since landing in the US on Wednesday evening straight from the Labour Party conference in Manchester.

He was immediately plunged into a round of meetings with the leaders of Spain, Brazil, Denmark and Australia, as well as the EU President, on Wednesday night, where he said that they accepted his case for reform of the banking system.

Yesterday morning he attended a breakfast meeting with a number of Wall Street figures, including George Soros, the billionaire financier, to discuss issues such as short-selling. In another late change to his schedule, he saw Tim Geithner, head of the New York Federal Reserve, demolishing Tory claims that his trip was irrele-vant.

Tomorrow, after addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on global finance issues, he will go to Washington where he will meet Mr Bush at the White House. They would discuss “the global economy and other strategic issues”, a spokesman said. The two are also expected to discuss Iraq, Afghanistan and the recent conflict in Georgia.

Yesterday Mr Brown backed President Bush’s plans for a bailout, saying it was vital to stabilise the financial system immediately. He said: “It’s necessary to get these bad assets out of the system as quickly as possible. Let us make sure we stabilise the financial system immediately. It is important we support the American action.”

Despite his endorsement of the US plan, Mr Brown said that he did not believe that such a move would be appropriate in Britain as “the American economy is different”.

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