Rachel Reeves insists Britain is NOT heading for IMF bailout

"A lot of them are talking rubbish, and frankly, a lot of what they're saying is irresponsible", the Chancellor told the BBC.

Elsewhere, Ms Reeves rejected the idea that Britain could be bankrupted by high levels of welfare spending and a massive debt burden.

On Tuesday, Ms Reeves looked to push the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to back her reforms to planning and trade deals in a bid to limit tax rises at her looming Budget.

The level of tax raids on Britons hinges on whether the OBR decides her reforms to planning and trade deals with India, US and EU will bolster economic growth, Government insiders have indicated.

The body has examined Britain's long-term prospects for growth over the summer, leaving Treasury officials fearing a downgrade could widen the already estimated £50billion black hole in public finances.

The figure was calculated by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) - and was quickly dismissed by the Chancellor.

NIESR Director David Aikman said Ms Reeves “faces an impossible trilemma: it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how the Government meets its fiscal targets, sticks to spending promises, and avoids tax increases on working people. Something will have to give.”

But the Chancellor said the influential think tank “more than most, got their numbers wrong in the last few years”, despite working out the calculations using the same fiscal model as the IMF.

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NIERS's former head, Professor Jagjit Chadha, warned just days ago that the economic challenges the Chancellor is facing is “as perilous as the period leading up to the IMF loan of 1976".

While French Economy Minister Eric Lombard has said "a risk exists" that his country could join Britain in requiring an IMF bailout in the near-future.

With a national debt exceeding €3.3trillion (£2.85trillion), Mr Lombard cautioned: "I bet that within a fortnight, our debt will be costing more than Italy’s."

The minister added the French Government "hopes to and must avoid" a repeat of the bailout which hit Britain during the 1970s.

Ms Reeves has confirmed the next Budget will be unveiled to the House of Commons on November 26.

In a video released after the date announcement, the Chancellor conceded that Britain's economy "isn't working well enough for working people" and "inflation and borrowing costs" would need to brought down.

She added: "We do that by keeping a tight grip on day-to-day spending and by enforcing my non-negotiable fiscal rules."

But Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick told GB News: “Rachel Thieves is bringing nothing but gloom with her nightmare before Christmas Budget."

And Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice said the Government will most likely raise taxes on working people, despite their manifesto explicitly promising not to do so.

He said: “Their poor economic choices since have made it almost inevitable that they’ll have to increase taxes yet again.

“This Government needs to take immediate action to end the flight of wealthy people from Britain, get a grip of the billions wasted by the Bank of England through quantitative easing and tightening, and end the net zero agenda which is marching this country to financial ruin.”

A spokesman for the Treasury said: “The OBR will publish an updated medium-term forecast alongside the autumn Budget - we will not speculate on their forecast."