Downing Street yesterday insisted the British government's relationship with the US would not be undermined by its rejection of the Kyoto treaty on climate change.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, said Britain would fulfil its commitment to reduce greenhouse gases but insisted there must be a "negotiated settlement with the US".
But the spokesman said it was "complete nonsense" to suggest that Britain would put its relationship with the US into "deep freeze" over the Kyoto agreement.
The comments came as the London Times reported that the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, is leading a group of ministers, including the International Development Secretary, Ms Clare Short, who have been urging Mr Blair to adopt a tougher line with the US over the Kyoto agreement.
The group, according to the Times, wants Britain to put its "special relationship" with the US into the "deep freeze" and threaten to withdraw co-operation over key issues such as world trade, the national missile defence programme and the diplomatic row with the Chinese over the US spy plane. The Times quoted one British government minister contrasting Mr Blair's "weak response" with the condemnation of the US expressed by the Swedish and German governments.
The minister said: "Europe could put real pressure on America to change its mind but Britain at the moment appears to be the weakest link. America depends on British and European co-operation to maintain its influence in the world in many ways. He [President Bush] should not take our support for granted or indeed, for his current problems with China. We should be punching as hard as we can."
Some Labour politicians are seeking to link the rejection of the Kyoto agreement with US-European trade measures, particularly the importation of US "white goods" such as refrigerators.
Mr Prescott criticised the Bush administration when it decided to pull out of the international agreement last month. He led Britain's delegation in the climate change talks and when President Bush withdrew from the agreement because he was concerned about its impact on jobs, Mr Prescott said the US "cannot pollute the world while free-riding on action by everyone else".