London  - Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Friday shrugged off German criticism of Britain's approach to the current global financial crisis.

In a BBC interview, Miliband denied that German Chancellor Angela Merkel was "cross" with Britain over plans for a financial stimulus.

"She is not cross at all. She is very engaged with the debate about the economic future of Europe," he said.

Miliband insisted there was a "strong pan-European commitment to the sort of stimulus that is evidently necessary given the scale of the downturn."

Miliband said the German criticism was linked to "internal politics" in Merkel's grand coalition government and forthcoming elections next year. (dpa)