Gordon Brown tiptoed along a diplomatic tightrope yesterday, avoiding any direct confrontation with President Bush, but spurning chances to replicate the warmth of his predecessor’s “special relationship”.

Mr Bush began his remarks by saying: “So, everybody’s wondering whether or not the Prime Minister and I were able to find common ground, to get along, to have a meaningful discussion, and the answer is — absolutely.”

He repeatedly praised the Prime Minister, describing him as a “problem solver”, someone whose soul had been strengthened by the “unspeakable tragedy” of losing a child, and insisted that — despite his reputation — he was “not the dour Scotsman”.

The recent terror threats in Britain had, said Mr Bush, proved Mr Brown’s “worthiness as a leader”.

Mr Brown noticeably did not return the compliments, instead using his superlatives to laud the relationship between Britain and America. While Mr Bush twice called Mr Brown “Gordon”, the Prime Minister preferred to address his host as “Mr President”.

He reiterated that Britain wanted to work with the United States on “all the great challenges” such as international terrorism, the Middle East and climate change.

But, after a weekend of fresh speculation that Britain was preparing to pull troops out of Iraq, he highlighted the progress being made in the south of the country, over which Britain has military responsibility. In three out of four provinces, he said, control had been handed to Iraqi authorities — and now only Basra remained under British military rule.

“We intend to move to overwatch in the fourth province, and that decision will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground. Whatever happens, we will make a full statement to Parliament when it returns,” Mr Brown said.

At one point the Prime Minister referred to Afghanistan as the “front line against terrorism” — an apparent contradiction of Mr Bush’s view that the battle must be fought in Iraq.

Later Mr Brown corrected himself, saying: “I think I described Afghanistan as the first line in the battle against the Taleban . . . There is no doubt, therefore, that al-Qaeda is operating in Iraq.”

Did he have the same philosophy as Mr Bush on terrorism? “Absolutely,” he replied. “This is a battle for which we can give no quarter . . . We know we are in a common struggle and we know we have to work together, and we know we have got to use all means to deal with it.”

Although British officials insisted that there is no change in policy, they also emphasised last night that the decision would be taken by British military commanders on the ground — without necessarily referring back to the US.

As Mr Brown spoke of withdrawing troops, Mr Bush, by contrast, was still talking a long game. “The challenge for Gordon and me is to write a chapter, the first chapter in this struggle that will lead to success,” he said.

He once again asked for patience on his “surge” strategy in Iraq, saying that critics should wait until General David Petraeus, the US military commander, delivered a progress report to Congress in September.

The talks yesterday also ranged around what they called other “global challenges”. These included pressing for stronger sanctions against Iran, preparing for international measures on climate change, the need for more effective action in Darfur, and the Middle East peace process.

Mr Brown emphasised that they had agreed on kick-starting stalled international trade talks this autumn, while Mr Bush said that he had been impressed by the Prime Minister’s vision for ending the the “tyranny of poverty”.

In deference to the US-British relationship, Mr Bush gave Mr Brown the full foreign-leader treatment: an overnight stay at the presidential retreat of Camp David in Maryland.

“You know, he probably wasn’t sure what to expect from me,” the President said. “I kinda had a sense of the kind of person I was going to be dealing with. I would describe Gordon Brown as a principled man who really wants to get something done.”

But Mr Brown has political priorities at home, as well as abroad, and he does not want to suffer the fate of Tony Blair who staked everything on building personal rapport with the President.

Yesterday he covered his bases by leaving Mr Bush for meetings with Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill — where support for the war is fading — and then heading for the United Nations in New York where he will today hold talks with Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary-General.

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