Bermuda is expected to be on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's blacklist of harmful tax havens set to be unveiled before the London G20 meeting next month, according to UK Sunday newspaper, The Observer.

The paper said the list is expected to include offshore centres linked to Britain, including Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

It claims that the move will be seen as a radical departure from Mr. Brown's historic position of protecting the pre-eminence of Britain's financial services industry, while trying to counter growing criticism from France and Germany that the UK, like Switzerland, is an obstacle to a transparent financial system.

It is understood, the publication said, that the government has accepted the need for global regulation of so-called secrecy jurisdictions and acknowledges the current system of bilateral exchange of information between tax havens and individual countries has not brought financial stability.

Mr. Brown's move follows US treasury secretary Tim Geithner's confirmation last week that President Barack Obama will back the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, set to come before Congress soon, while Germany is planning similar legislation.

As preparations for the G20 meeting gather pace, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development was also poised to produce its own blacklist of secrecy jurisdictions, where many structured investment vehicles and collateralised debt obligations have been based, said The Observer.