<p><br /> There are fears that Britain could follow Greece into a financial crisis after a global finance chief warned of economic "contagion" spreading across Europe.<br /> </p><p><br /> The head of the International Monetary Fund urged politicians to finalise a bail-out for the debt-laden Mediterranean country, saying that every day lost in resolving the problems risked spreading the impact "far away".<br /> </p><p><br /> Dominique Strauss-Kahn's comments come amid more evidence of Europe's mounting fiscal problems after Spain's debt was downgraded, a move recently applied to its under-pressure neighbour Portugal as well as Greece.<br /> </p><p><br /> Shadow chancellor George Osborne has raised the spectre of the crisis affecting the public finances of the UK, which faces dealing with its own £163 billion mountain of public borrowing.<br /> </p><p><br /> Speaking to the annual conference of the Institute of Directors on Wednesday about the need to deal with the record debt, he said: "If anyone doubts the dangers that face our country if we do not, they should look at what is happening today in Greece and in Portugal."<br /> </p><p><br /> Economist Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics added that Greece could be a "sovereign equivalent" of Lehman Brothers, which triggered a meltdown with its collapse in September 2008.<br /> </p><p><br /> Germany is still holding out for more economic reforms from Greece before agreeing to an unprecedented multi-billion euro bail-out plan.<br /> </p><p><br /> Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wanted to see more tough measures from Athens to put the brake on soaring deficit levels before making a final commitment.<br /> </p>
