UK's Brown snubs G8 ballet but tapes England game

ST PETERSBURG, June 11 (Reuters) He has no time for ballet or dinner but Britain's Gordon Brown has set the video for Saturday's England World Cup football game.

The workaholic finance minister jetted into St Petersburg for a weekend meeting of Group of Eight finance ministers for barely more than 12 hours -- missing out on Friday's dinner and a trip to see Swan Lake laid on by his Russian hosts.

But with World Cup fever gripping Britain, the favourite to take over from Prime Minister Tony Blair perhaps even within 12 months, was eager to rush back home to watch England's opening game against Paraguay yesterday.

Forced to fly later, however, Brown ordered the game to be taped.

The Scot confidently predicted an England victory to reporters in St Petersburg and put aides and aircraft crew under strict instructions not to divulge any details of the game so that he could enjoy the recording when he got home.

''It will be like something out of the Likely Lads watching Gordon try to avoid seeing the score til he gets home,'' one Brown aide told Reuters.

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