Cabinet ordered to rescue Brown in 10p tax revolt

As rebels revealed they have enough names to inflict a bloody Commons defeat, Chief Whip Geoff Hoon ordered every senior minister to help scrape votes together.

Mr Hoon briefed this morning's weekly Cabinet meeting on the deadly arithmetic for next Monday's vote.

"The message from the Chief Whip was that all members of the Cabinet should explain to those who have concerns what the Government's position is," said Downing Street.

Operation Save Gordon began rolling this afternoon when Chancellor Alistair Darling and Treasury Chief Secretary Yvette Cooper called in the first group of backbenchers protesting about Mr Brown's decision to abolish the ultra-low 10p starting rate of tax, a move which experts claim has made 5.3million poor households worse off.

Treasury sources ruled out any cash to compensate those losing out by up to £4 a week. "The Chancellor hasn't any money," said a senior source. "There is no secret stash up his sleeve."

Rebel ringleader Frank Field, the former welfare reform minister, refused to believe it. He said there was £1 billion in unclaimed tax credits that could be used - enough to repay in full the average loss of £2 a week.

It set the stage for a week of tension and frantic arm-twisting by the whips before next week's showdown.

Mr Brown raised the stakes last night when, during a personal appeal to backbenchers, he told they must not defeat the Government's Budget.

That effectively turned it into a confidence issue, where defeat would probably force a confidence vote in the entire Government and, ultimately, in Mr Brown. One rebel, Gordon Prentice-warned: "The fact is that if the Budget goes down, if this key clause goes down, then I don't think the Government can survive."

Mr Field unveiled a list of 39 names of MPs backing an amendment to the Finance Bill calling for immediate compensation - easily enough to overturn Labour's majority of 67.

They included ex-whip Greg Pope, former ministers George Howarth and Gisela Stuart and several junior Brownites. Government sources were confident that some would soon drop out but Mr Field said he thought there were more potential rebels in the wings.

In a key development, the Treasury committee this afternoon announced a surprise inquiry into the impact of the abolition of the 10p rate and other Budget decisions on low-income households. The cross-party inquiry

could be used by ministers to float possible compromises later.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said the 10p row was only a small part of today's Cabinet, which was mainly focused on the economy.

The UK Independence Party today hailed former Tory MP Dr Bob Spink as its first MP. The MP for Castle Point in Essex joined Ukip after leaving the Conservatives last month.