Clinton insists US-Britain ties strong

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed on Sunday that the so-called "special relationship" between the United States and Britain was strong, despite recent signs of a chill.

Meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown at his country residence outside London, Clinton said: "I have a special personal relationship with the prime minister and of course I think it can't be said often enough, we have a special relationship between our countries."

The trans-Atlantic ties appeared strained at last month's UN General Assembly in New York when US President Barack Obama reportedly snubbed Brown's repeated attempts to arrange a face-to-face meeting with him.

Although Obama and Brown later appeared together and co-hosted a meeting at the UN, the British press latched on to the suggestion that Brown was out of favour with the White House, an accusation rejected by the prime minister.

After talks with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband earlier on Sunday, Clinton also stressed that the United States and Britain remained the strongest of partners internationally.

She said she was happy to have "an opportunity to reaffirm the historical importance of the special relationship between our two countries."

Reports that Clinton was to meet the leader of the main opposition Conservatives, David Cameron, during her brief stop in London were denied by US officials. Cameron is tipped to oust Brown in elections due by next June.

Ties between London and Washington were also strained by the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber from prison in Scotland in August.

Obama told Brown he was "disappointed" by the decision to release ailing Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds to return to Libya, but Britain insists the decision was taken solely by Scotland under devolved powers.