Mr Brown said the authorities' failure to co-operate with an international relief effort was "completely unacceptable" and pledged that Britain would use its chairmanship of the UN Security Council to press for action within the next day.

Mr Brown said that the Royal Navy ship HMS Westminster was heading for Burma to help humanitarian operations in the south east Asian country, where an estimated two million people are believed to be in danger of death and disease.

Speaking in 10 Downing Street, Mr Brown said: "We now estimate that two million people face famine or disease as a result of the lack of co-operation of the Burmese authorities. This is completely unacceptable. There must be unfettered access to humanitarian agencies."

Up to 5,000 square kilometres of Burma are still under water following the devastating Cyclone Nargis more than a week ago. An estimated 100,000 people have already perished in the disaster, but aid agency, Oxfam has warned this figure could multiply 15-fold, with further torrential rain expected.

The military junta which rules Burma has come under sustained international pressure for not allowing emergency supplies and skilled aid workers into the secretive country quickly enough.

Mr Brown said: "We have already made available £5 million. We have got a humanitarian team now in Rangoon to assess all options for getting help through to people in need.

"We are sending HMS Westminster so it is available for humanitarian operations and a flight will leave from Dubai today that will give shelter for thousands of people in Burma.

"At the same time, (International Development Secretary) Douglas Alexander will go to Europe tomorrow to get a co-ordinated European approach and Mark Malloch-Brown, our Asia minister, will be visiting capitals in Asia in the next few days.

"We are determined to use our membership and, indeed, the chairmanship of the Security Council to push action forward in the next few days - indeed, in the next day."



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