India should be given a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to reflect its status as an emerging global power, Gordon Brown said yesterday.

His call, made within hours of landing in Delhi, drew loud applause from an audience of students watching him in a televised discussion and will be welcomed by India’s political leaders, who have been pressing for a seat at the UN’s top table.

Mr Brown, on the second leg of a visit to China and India, plans to expand his call for UN reform later today as he makes a speech to business leaders in Delhi, urging changes to global bodies including the UN.

His support for India’s case for a place on the Security Council will cause anger in Pakistan, whose own claim for a seat has hampered past attempts at reform. Mr Brown continues to side with India.

One British official said: “India is a good example of a powerful country, the biggest democracy in the world, that deserves a seat at the top table.” Privately, another official said that Pakistan’s position had been weakened by political instability over the past two years as President Musharraf battled to keep a grip on power in the face of rising Islamic extremism.

Britain is pressing for the Security Council’s five permament members to be increased to include India, Japan, Germany and Brazil, plus an African country. Diplomats refused to say which, for fear of offending the chief contenders: South Africa and Nigeria, both regional powers, and Egypt, which is backed by Arab states. One possibility is a permanent African seat rotating between three or more countries.

Under Mr Brown’s plans, the new members would not initially win veto powers similar to the existing five – the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France. Instead, places on the Security Council would be offered without blocking powers in a first phase, followed by subsequent changes that included veto rights.

Officials said that Mr Brown had devoted considerable time to his proposals and raised them regularly in talks with other leaders. Any changes would, however, require unanimous backing from all five permanent members, making progress difficult.

In a speech today he will add: “Let me say at the outset that I support India’s bid for a permanent place - with others – on an expanded United Nations Security Council.”

As well as enlarging the Security Council he wants an overhaul to the UN’s committee structure, perhaps combining separate bodies on economic development and human rights, and changes to its peacekeeping operations. The Prime Minister’s chief proposal is for a UN stabilisation taskforce of civilians – such as police, administrators or judges – seconded from different countries to work alongside military peacekeepers in states ruined by war or political collapse.

Taskforces, backed by UN resolutions, headed by an envoy in charge of military and civilian peacekeeping, and backed by a proposed fund of $200 million, might help countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo make the transition from peace to development, or be deployed in Darfur or Zimbabwe, if President Mugabe’s regime falls.

Such intervention would usually require the backing of the host country. There is still debate over whether it could be imposed by force in extreme cases. Mr Brown will say: “We must do more to ensure rapid reconstruction on the ground once conflicts are over and combine traditional humanitarian aid and peacekeeping with stabilisation, recovery and development.”

Mr Brown also held talks yesterday with Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister, about increased intelligence-sharing between British and Indian security agencies to step up counter-terrorism cooperation, on cooperation to isolate extremist ideology used by terror groups for recruitment, and on harmonising security equipment such as enhanced scanners at ports and airports.

Times Recommends

• ‘Thousands of Tamils dying’ in Sri Lanka camp
• Jackson 'rebuilt his nose before he died'
• Tehran: militiamen attack protesters