"The financial system will never be the same again," Alistair Darling told a Labor Party conference, saying he remained cautiously optimistic that disciplined action within the government could revive Britain's economic outlook, The Financial Times reported.

Darling said he would introduce banking legislation giving the Bank of England power to intervene in a failing bank and increase protection for savers if a bank fails, the Times reported.

"The economic challenges we have faced in recent months -- and recent days -- are unprecedented in decades," he said. "But one thing I am certain about is that we have the right prime minister, the right team and the right policies to help the country through."