© Press Association 2008

GORDON Brown has thrown his weight behind the proposed US taxpayer bail-out of American financial institutions, saying it was essential to take rapid action to restore stability to the markets.

Amid intense debate in Congress about the 700 billion US dollar plan, the Prime Minister gave his backing to US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson during a visit to New York.

"It is necessary to get these bad assets out of the system as quickly as possible," he said in an interview with the BBC World Service.

"We support and welcome the American Resolution Trust Corp. Let us make sure we stabilise the financial system immediately."

Mr Brown added that while it was up to American politicians to thrash out the details of the scheme, there was wide support for the principle.

On Wednesday night, President George Bush made a televised appeal to the nation setting out the case for Mr Paulson's controversial proposal, saying the entire US economy was "in danger".

The Prime Minister is in New York for a UN poverty summit and talks with world leaders about the recent financial turmoil.

In the BBC interview, he suggested that his foreign counterparts accepted the need for the reforms he has proposed in the financial sector. They include a global regulatory system, bigger responsibility on banks' boards, reforming the bonus system and greater transparency on transactions.

Mr Brown met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo, followed by a gathering with Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.