Britain's Brown rejects call for general election

LONDON May 19 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday that an early general election would not solve the expenses scandal that has gripped parliament, adding that the parliamentary system itself had to be overhauled.

"The problem is parliament. The solution to this is to clean up the system," he told a news conference.

"Those people who somehow believe that this can be sorted out just by a few names changing on a few name plates are wrong," he added.

A general election is due to be held by mid-2010. (Reporting by Keith Weir and Avril Ormsby)