British Prime Minister Gordon Brown began the Labour conference in Manchester with a promise to do ‘whatever it takes’ to clean up the financial system and protect British jobs and savings.
Mr Brown acknowledged he was going through ‘testing times’ but insisted he was determined to continue to serve all the people of the country.
He sought to brush off speculation about a possible challenge to his leadership, telling delegates he did not want to talk about ‘that other stuff’.
And he promised to seek the return of £8 million (€10.15m) transferred from Lehman Brothers offices in London to the US shortly before the bank's collapse last weekend, in order to ensure that workers including low-paid cleaners and computer operators get their wages.
Mr Brown received a generally warm response from activists, who appeared to have decided to put thoughts of rebellion on ice at least for the five days of the Manchester gathering.
The announcement of a £1 million (€1.25m) donation to the Labour Party from Harry Potter author JK Rowling was carefully timed to sprinkle a bit of magic on Mr Brown at the start of what had been billed as the toughest conference of his political life.
And the multi-million selling author gave Mr Brown a political boost too, hailing his record on fighting child poverty and condemning Conservative leader David Cameron's plans for tax breaks for married couples.
