Gordon Brown declared on Thursday that “this is the day the world came together to fight recession not with words but with a plan for economic recovery and reform.” He said the global fiscal stimulus, the largest “the world has ever seen”, amounted to $5,000bn while there was another new $1,100bn “programme of support to restore credit, growth and jobs in the world economy”.

Figures at the end of any international summit need to be examined closely, particularly those presented by the UK prime minister. His reputation for numerical inflation, repeat announcements and double counting precedes him.