SPENDING by the Government has soared at its fastest rate for almost three decades, according to overhauled official figures published yesterday, sparking charges of a pre-election spree by Gordon Brown.

Fears over strains on the Government’s finances were also stoked by separate data showing the Chancellor slipping to the verge of breaching his self-imposed “golden rule”.

Radically revised national accounts showed that government spending in the first quarter of the year leapt by 5.7 per cent — the sharpest increase since the start of 1975.

The spending surge was almost double the 2.9 per cent increase previously estimated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

With growth in government spending in 2001 and 2002 also revised sharply upwards, the figures were seized on by the Conservatives as evidence that Mr Brown is mounting a spending binge ahead of the next election that would be paid for in higher taxes.

Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Chancellor, said: “If this isn't a pre-election spending spree I don’t know what is. Bigger and bigger government based on big borrowing in order to get a big political gain in the short term produces big problems for the future.”

The spending data comes 12 days before Mr Brown unveils his latest three-year spending review when he is expected to emphasise that he will rein in spending from next year. Worries over the stresses on public finances were fuelled as the ONS reported that the Chancellor is sailing closer to the wind over his golden rule. Under the rule, all the Government’s “current” day-to-day running costs must be paid for by tax, not borrowing.

This means that over an economic cycle the Government’s “current budget” must stay in the black.

• The US Federal Reserve raised American interest rates last night for the first time in four years and put markets on alert for more aggressive action if it sees signs of an inflation outbreak. In a widely anticipated move, the US central bank raised its key Fed Funds rate by a quarter-point from a 46-year low of 1 per cent.