Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Minister Lorely Burt has dubbed Gordon Brown the Jean Luc Picard of British politics and called on Ministers not to end many of the schemes that have been helping businesses get through the recession.

Speaking to Business Voice WM - at an event jointly organised by Forrest Research and Birmingham Business School - the Solihull MP was scathing.

She declared: "Gordon Brown is acting like Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek where he says 'Make it so'."

And, in reference to Government plans for an Act of Parliament that would seek to cut the national deficit in half, she added: "It is barking mad to think you can legislate out of your problems."

Ms Burt called for a series of Government schemes - that are aimed to help businesses get through the recession - to continue.

She said: "The Government has refused to change the timing of its VAT increase. The Federation of Small Businesses says the change should occur from February 1 to help the January sales. I agree.

"The top up credit insurance scheme is due to end on December 31. The car scrappage scheme is due to end at the end of February. The first year capital allowances scheme is due to end at the end of April. I have asked the Government for certainty about these schemes.

"I have urged the Government to continue the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. The automotive assistance programme has not worked. Jaguar Land Rover was messed about by officials and it realised this was not worth the candle and got funding from elsewhere."

Prof Robert Cressy, of Birmingham Business School, speaking at the same event, slammed the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for not properly overseeing the growth of self certified mortgages, which, he claimed was leading to "the UK's sub prime crisis".

He added: "The FSA must shoulder much of the blame. Self certified mortgages (SCMs) are inherently risky as marginal borrowers could not get loans on the basis of standard income assessments. The FSA either didn't know the extent of SCMs or, more likely, was under the illusion that the property bubble would never burst."

Business Voice WM is helping to develop action plans for the construction and textiles sectors which should be ready by the end of the year.

But BVWM Executive Director, James Watkins cautioned: "Too many businesses are having problems exporting to key European Union markets and the United States because of the difficulties in getting export credit insurance.

"While the Government has acted with a letters of credit scheme for developing countries, the lack of action in getting the credit insurance market moving again for developed countries could delay the export led recovery that this country so sorely needs."