Chancellor George Osborne held a Treasury summit at his country retreat in an attempt to prevent a repeat of last year's Budget "omnishambles".

His ministers and officials gathered with Conservative Party HQ staff for an all-day meeting to go through the options for next month's financial statement.

The Dorneywood talks come after the Chancellor was forced into a series of embarrassing climbdowns in the wake of last year's Budget.

Plans for taxing caravan owners, hot food and removing some tax reliefs for charitable donations all had to be revised in the face of heavy criticism.

A source said: "This is going to be a very political Budget. George would be the first to admit he took his eye off the ball last year."