Theresa May’s relationship with Philip Hammond is close to breaking point after Downing Street took control of a last-minute Budget briefing amid fears Wednesday's financial statement will fall flat.

Number 10 ordered the Treasury to rush out an announcement on schools after alarm bells started ringing over the lacklustre build-up to the most important Budget of Mrs May’s premiership.

It came after a series of botched Budget announcements and a gaffe-strewn TV interview by Mr Hammond at the weekend.

One Cabinet source described it as “the worst Budget build-up in history”.

Mr Hammond’s prospects of staying on as Chancellor now depend on him delivering a Budget that is far beyond what most of his Conservative colleagues dare to expect.

One minister told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Hammond would have “no excuses” if the Budget flopped, while a former minister said his statement would have to be “spectacular” for him to have any chance of saving his job.