Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown says he would be "failing in his duty" if he "didn't take seriously" the needs of Wales.

He told BBC's Today programme that the no-confidence vote faced by Assembly First Secretary Alun Michael was a "trumped up motion".

He said Wales would benefit from the comprehensive spending review this summer.

The no-confidence vote comes after what opposition parties see as Alun Michael's failure to secure the necessary funds from the Treasury to match more than £1.2bn of European money available to some of Wales's poorest areas.

Mr Brown said there would be "proper provision" in the comprehensive spending review for all parts of the United Kingdom.

He denied that the Treasury was witholding match funding for European money.

"This is a misrepresentation put around by the Nationalists - who want to wreck the assembly because they believe in separation - and the Tories - who never believed in it," said Mr Brown.

"The money for the Objective One funding is available for this year, as everybody knows.

'A good job'

"I would be failing in my duty if I didn't take Objective One seriously and din't put it in the the comprehensive spending review.

"This is a trumped up motion."

He said matching money for the first year was available, and future years would come out of the comprehensive spending review, which is announced in July.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair has given its support to the Assembly First Secretary.

A statement from No 10 says the Labour Party in Wales elected Alun Michael and the Prime Minister thinks he is doing a "good job".