China says UK's Brown never down for Olympic start

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was never expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August, China said on Thursday.

"It has always been understood by both sides that Prime Minister Gordon Brown is attending the closing ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games," the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement.

A British television channel reported on Wednesday that Brown had decided not to go to the opening ceremony. It said the British prime minister had not previously made that clear.

Brown's official spokesman said on March 19 the prime minister would attend the closing ceremony, as is customary for the leader of the next Summer Olympics host country.

London is staging the 2012 Games.