The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown held talks with the outspoken Fifa vice-president Jack Warner on Friday in a bid to help kickstart England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals.

Warner has been critical of England’s campaign, claiming they needed more “stardust”. Brown, who is Scottish, met Warner during the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad & Tobago.

"It was an opportunity for the prime minister to re-emphasise how important this is to the country and how personally committed he is," said a British Government official.

England’s bid has been seen as in disarray after six members left the board in a restructuring. This was followed by the resignation of David Richards, who is also the Premier League chairman.

Brown was not the only premier to meet with Warner, who is also president of the CONCACAF region.

Australia’s Kevin Rudd, followed Brown’s lead. Ben Buckley, chief executive of the Football Federation of Australia, said Rudd has explained the benefits Asia would gain from his country hosting the tournament.

"[They] discussed the value of sport in community development, and the growing popularity of football in Australia," he said.

"The Prime Minister also referred to the growth of the game in the Asian region and how an Australian-hosted World Cup would help promote and consolidate the game in Asia."

Fifa, world football’s governing body, will decide the hosts for 2018 and 2022 in December 2010.

Russia, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, United States, Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium are also bidding.