Gordon Brown was given bad news on his first full day back in the Treasury yesterday.

Although interest rates were kept on hold at 4.75 per cent, the chancellor will have been disappointed to have been told that inflationary pressure is growing despite the economy weakening.

Industrial output and consumer spending have both slowed in recent months, putting further pressure on Brown's ambitious growth forecasts, which will determine whether he can meet his own fiscal rules in the next cycle without raising taxes.