The G8 appears set to scale-down summits in the future following the chaos which surrounded the "super summit" held in Genoa over the weekend.

As a sign of the move, the Canadian prime minister, Jean Chretien, said he was switching next year's G8 summit from Ottawa to an isolated location in the Rocky Mountains.

Tony Blair, however, made an impassioned defence of international meetings, hitting out at the mob-element who had brought Genoa to a standstill.

Speaking as the summit closed, Blair said governments would be "mad" to stop meeting altogether as a result of violent protests.

However, foreign office minister Peter Hain criticised the Italian police for its handling of the protests in Genoa. He said the authorities were guilty of "over reacting" to the protests which left one dead and several injured.