George W. Bush yesterday delivered an impassioned defence of the free market system ahead of the G20 summit in Washington, serving warning that his administration would resist efforts to impose heavy-handed regulation on global financial markets. The outgoing US president vowed to support efforts to bring greater stability and transparency to the troubled financial system but warned it would be a "terrible mistake" to allow "a few months of crisis" to undermine faith in free market capitalism.

"While reforms in the financial sector are essential, the long-term solution to today's problems is sustained economic growth," he told an audience in New York. "And the surest path to that growth is free markets and free people." His remarks reflected US determination to push back against some of the more aggressive European proposals for tougher international financial regulations at this weekend's emergency meeting of the 20 leading economic powers.