BRITAIN is further along the road to economic recovery than many of its rivals, George Osborne has claimed as finance ministers from the G7 leading nations gathered at a stately home in Buckinghamshire for their annual meeting.

The Chancellor insisted a global recovery could not be taken for granted and called for fresh action to nurture a revival.

He said the G7 summit was an "opportunity to consider what more monetary activism can do to support the recovery while ensuring medium-term inflation expectations remain anchored".

Mr Osborne said: "We have shown political will to tackle problems at home and I believe the UK is further along that road than many ... We have more in common than separates us. The G7 can be a catalyst for collective action to the benefit of all."

At Hartwell House in Aylesbury, he said some stability and confidence had returned to the global economy but much more needed to be done.

Britain holds the chairmanship of the G7 and Mr Osborne urged a focus on "the three pillars of monetary activism, fiscal responsibility, and structural reform".

Today, discussions will move to structural policy areas, including implementing commitments to end the "too big to fail" flaws in the banking system and on tackling tax evasion and avoidance.

Work will also continue on breaking down global trade barriers, with the Chancellor insistent free trade agreements with the EU and India and Canada can be completed this year.

Mr Osborne said he recognised that the G20 group – which includes emerging powers such as China, India and Brazil – was now the "primary economic forum for setting the global rules of the game".

However, he stressed the G7 nations – the US, Germany, Japan, the UK, Italy, France and Canada – still wielded "major economic firepower" as they represented around half the global economy.