Alistair Darling on Monday called for “a clear and detailed plan of action” to address market turmoil, in a letter to fellow finance ministers ahead of the Group of Seven meeting in Washington this weekend.

The chancellor said swift action was needed to calm the turmoil in the markets, given the worsening of the outlook since the last G7 meeting in early February. “The problems in financial markets have intensified and spread globally to create one of the strongest financial shocks for decades,” he will say in the letter.