British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says that the current financial crisis should be viewed as an opportunity to create a "new global order", ahead of a week of meetings with world leaders.

Speaking in London, Brown - due to meet the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China in the next seven days - renewed a warning against protectionism, urging countries to instead help set "new rules for this new global order".

Brown, who will also meet the president of the World Bank, cautioned that if a consensus was not built supporting globalisation, "all our prosperities" would be imperiled.

He has previously argued for stronger international co-operation better to regulate financial institutions, and said on Monday that he wanted to work towards better cross-border regulation at a summit of the Group of 20 industrialised and developing countries in London in April.

His speech came just days after official data confirmed Britain was in its first recession - defined as two quarters running of negative economic growth - since 1991.