Chancellor Alistair Darling tells the Labour Conference that he will take steps to deal with economic crisis

Alistair Darling told the Labour Conference today that the fundamental strength of the UK economy meant the nation could be "confident about the future" as he pledged to take steps to deal with the "extraordinary turbulence" in the financial markets.

Speaking to Conference on the same day as David Miliband, widely regarded as a potential successor to Gordon Brown, Darling said the economy was going through "difficult times" but said he would avoid knee jerk reactions to issues such as tax.

Darling praised the government's action to support the banking system over the past week, contrasting it with the attitude of the Conservatives whom he said had "walked away" from speaking out on tough decisions.

Darling said he would take whatever steps were necessary to address turmoil in the markets.

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