Gordon Brown looks set to be presiding over one of the highest levels of debt in Europe by 2010, according to a new report.

A report by the European Commission has warned that debt levels in the UK will reach as high as 60% of GDP by 2010 as the economy shrinks by “at least” 1% - the worst economic performance since 1991.

Gloomy forecasts were also made for UK employment statistics, with the prediction being that 7.1% of the workforce will be out of work in 2009, much higher than the figure of 5.7% for 2008.