The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown will call on the European Union to undertake "root and branch" reform of its lavish farm subsidies in efforts to heal divisions between rich and poor countries exposed by the collapse of global trade talks in Cancún last weekend.

Alarmed at the damage the stalled talks could inflict on a jittery global economy, Mr Brown will use this weekend's IMF and World Bank meetings to urge a speedy resumption of negotiations, backed by a pledge from Western leaders to break down the trade barriers faced by the poorest countries.

"The chancellor will express his bitter disappointment at the breakdown of the Cancún talks," a senior UK Treasury official said. "We need political commitment at the highest levels of government to push through the talks in areas where obstacles have arisen."

Europe, which has been blamed for provoking poor countries into walking out of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, should hold out an olive branch by offering to reopen last June's reforms of the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP).

"We would like to see root and branch reform of the CAP and that clearly means going further," the official said.

Poor countries were incensed when Brussels reneged on the promise made two years ago to phase out its subsidised food exports, blamed for depressing world prices and ruining farmers in the developing world.