He might have claimed to save the world from economic catastrophe but even superheroes like Gordon Brown need help sometimes. The Prime Minister admitted yesterday, during his tour of regional radio studios, that he would call on the Transformers character Optimus Prime to help him in dire straits.

Mr Brown made the startling admission in a radio interview as he revealed his two young sons loved Transformers and that he had bought the Hasbro Transformers toy, and star of the eponymous film, as one of their Christmas presents.

In what appeared to be yet another attempt to humanise his own image Mr Brown said he would like to meet the machine superhero from the hit movie. "If I could meet Optimus Prime - he seems to be able to solve most of the problems," he said.

Quite what kind of advice the leader of "The Autobots", who turns from a lorry into a fully-armoured robotic soldier equipped with a laser rifle, is not clear.

The robot leader from the planet Cybertron is more used to doing battle with Decepticons, the villains of the Transformers film, than Tories but this did not appear to be an issue for the world saviour from Kirkcaldy. The Hasbro toy company describes the Autobot leader as a powerhouse force to be reckoned and despite having no record of economic expertise every six-year-old knows that Optimus Prime stands for honour and justice. So, there is bound to be a seat for him around the cabinet table.