Robin Cook announces the high commissioner's recall

The foreign secretary, Robin Cook, is recalling the British high commissioner from Pakistan for talks in the wake of that country's decision to conduct a series of nuclear tests last week.

However, Mr Cook told the House of Commons it would be wrong to suspend Britain's aid programme to Pakistan for fear it would hurt the nation's poor. But he signalled the European Union should review trade relations, as it had been invited to do with India following their nuclear tests.

Mr Cook also said that planned visits by the army and navy staffs of India had been cancelled.

Economic price

He stressed that India had already shown signs of the economic price it would pay for isolation within the international community.

The value of the Indian Rupee had fallen and last week there were no takers for the Indian government's offer of bonds worth £1bn.

As president of the G8 group of leading industrialised nations, Britain is calling a meeting of their foreign ministers in London next week.

Mr Cook said: "That meeting will co-ordinate the response of the leading economies to the nuclear test programmes and how we can best promote dialogue with India and Pakistan and between India and Pakistan."

Arms race

Micheal Howard: arms race presents grave danger for humanity

Commenting on the fear that India and Pakistan's tests could not only create a regional arms race but also lead to further nuclear proliferation, Mr Cook said the situation posed "a critical challenge" to the world community and added: "It's up to us to make sure that the international community rises to that challenge."

The shadow foreign secretary, Michael Howard, give his support to Mr Cook's actions and said nuclear proliferation was "one of the greatest dangers to face humanity as we move towards the millennium".