George Osborne, the Chancellor, said that the Government had published “a comprehensive Treasury analysis”. Speaking in Bristol, he described the report as “a sober and serious look at the costs and benefits of remaining in the EU, or leaving it”.

However, Raoul Ruparel, co-director of Open Europe, the free market think-tank, described the report as “one-sided”, for its failure to assess any potential upsides to leaving the EU.

"It is a cost-benefit analysis of EU membership which looks at the benefits of EU membership and talks about the costs of leaving, but none of the benefits of leaving,” Mr Ruparel said. “It is a strange combination.”

Andrew Lilico, executive director of Europe Economics and the chairman of Economists for Britain, said that the Treasury’s work failed to grapple with the arguments put forward by those in favour of a Brexit. “The report assumes away much of the case of those who want to leave,” he said.