Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday during a visit to London to receive one of the world's richest prizes, a government spokesman said.

The meeting at 10 Downing Street with Cameron and with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was described as "private".

China has in the past strongly objected when the Dalai Lama has met Western leaders.

In a ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral following the meetings, the Dalai Lama said he would donate the 1.1 million pounds ($1.8 million, 1.4 million euros) Templeton Prize to charity.

The Buddhist monk, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, will donate $1.5 million of the prize to Save the Children to help malnourished children in India, where he is exiled.

"Our real hope (is the) younger generation. If we properly educate them then they will change the whole world," the 76-year-old told a crowd of more than 2,000 inside the vast cathedral.

"The 21st century should be more peaceful," he added, warning the audience against pursuing too much money or power.

The Dalai Lama is also giving $200,000 to the Mind and Life Institute, an organisation promoting closer work between science and spirituality, while the rest of the prize will fund scientific education for Tibetan monks.

The Templeton Prize honours the Dalai Lama's efforts to encourage "serious scientific investigative reviews of the power of compassion," organisers said.

The monk, who fled Chinese rule for India in 1959, announced last year that he was giving up his political role and would focus on spiritual duties.

He was tight-lipped about an interview he gave to Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper in which he revealed that he was warned by sources within Tibet of a plot by Chinese agents to assassinate him.

He was allegedly to be poisoned by Tibetan women posing as devotees seeking his blessing.

"We have no possibility to cross-check, so I don't know," he told journalists ahead of the prize-giving on Monday.

Beijing has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging Tibetan protesters against Chinese rule in the vast Himalayan region to set fire to themselves, a charge he denies.

The spiritual leader, who seeks greater Tibetan autonomy, described the self-immolations on Monday as "a sensitive political issue."

"I think my message should be 'zero' as since last year I have retired from political responsibility," he said.