Brown says Conservative cuts would risk 'double dip' slump

In a podcast on the No 10 website, he said the recovery remains fragile and the economy needs time to regain strength – drawing a comparison with footballer Wayne Rooney's injured foot.

"I know everyone will be hoping he's fit for the World Cup but after an injury you need support to recover, you need support to get back to match fitness, you need support to get back your full strength and then go on to lift the World Cup. So with the economy – we're not back to full fitness, we need to maintain support," he said.

"If we try and jump off the treatment table as if nothing had happened we'll do more damage to the economy – and frankly that means we risk a double-dip recession. I think that's a risk we can't afford to take."

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne announced last week that the Tories would make 6bn in public sector efficiency savings this year in order to reverse part of the Government's planned increase in National Insurance contributions, due to come in next April.

However, Mr Brown said that would mean taking money out of the economy at a time when it still needed support.

The Conservatives received support for their proposals from a series of high-profile business leaders.

However, Mr Brown said there was "widespread agreement" among economists and businesses – including the CBI, IMF and the Institute for Fiscal Studies – that it would be wrong to take money out of the economy this year.

INTEREST RATES SET TO BE HELD DOWN

The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5 per cent when its monetary policy committee gathers this week.

While figures on Tuesday showed that the UK moved out of recession faster than originally thought in the fourth quarter of 2009, economists said there was still considerable doubt about the strength of the recovery.

As well as keeping rates at a record low, the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee is unlikely to alter the 200bn it has so far spent on quantitative easing, or printing money, in order to support the economy.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said it was important for UK businesses that the MPC maintained its current approach, particularly as a double-dip recession is still a potential threat.

He added: "Risks of a setback to the recovery are still much bigger in the near term than the risks of higher inflation."