GORDON Brown has described Britain's alliance with France as an “entente formidable” as he and Nicolas Sarkozy stressed the need for close cooperation and to stay “bang in the middle” of Europe.

Speaking at a press conference after a working lunch at Downing Street (UK premier's London home) on Friday, the two leaders highlighted close political alignment on a number of policy fronts as the prime minister described relations between the two countries as “greater now than at any time since the Second World War”.

Brown said he and Sarkozy were in “harmony” over the need to introduce a tax on banking transactions as he revealed that a report on the levy is due “in the next few weeks”.

As well as on the economy, the two countries were working “more closely than ever” on environmental, energy and security matters, he said. This included putting nuclear power at the heart of tackling climate change.

In his first visit to Downing Street since 2008, Sarkozy echoed the view that it was essential Britain remain “bang in the middle” of Europe amid concerns that any future Conservative government may engage less enthusiastically with Europe under its leader David Cameron.

Sarkozy insisted he was not in Britain to “play politics” ahead of the forthcoming UK general election but nevertheless made comments that appeared to be aimed squarely at the Tory leader, who was to meet him later. “I remain convinced that the position of our British friends is bang in the middle of Europe. We need you,” the French president said.

Sarkozy said he “regretted” Cameron's decision to pull the Tories out of the centre-right European People's party grouping in the European parliament.

The president and prime minister used their press conference to reveal that work on a banking levy was progressing as Brown pointed to Japan's recent decision to come out in favour of such a move.

“The banks are organised at a global level now,” said the prime minister. “Their global contribution to society has to be measured in some way. I cannot have one set of banks undercutting another set of banks by moving from one country to another as tax havens or regulatory regimes make it too easy to pay any taxes at all. The global financial levy is something that is not only on the agenda but will be subject to a report that will appear in the next few weeks and I believe that the French and British positions are entirely in harmony on this and we can move forward on this.

Both Britain and France were worried about the fragility of the economic recovery, he said, so had agreed to maintain the economic stimulus, “to stick to the course” in their determination to create high global growth.

— The Guardian, London