The death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden will bring "great relief" across the world, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.

"Osama bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen - for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives, many of them British. It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror," Cameron said in a statement.

"The news that Osama bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world," he said.