Gordon Brown found himself in the firing line after details emerged from a new book by journalist Andrew Rawnsley, which claims he shouted, swore and threw things at staff at Ten Downing Street. A bullying charity stoked the flames, saying staff there had received calls from Mr Brown's staff.

Then, Mr Darling entered the fray, saying number ten unleashed "the forces of hell" on him when he gave an interview predicting Britain was facing the worst recession in 60 years.

In the capital on Friday, Mr Darling insisted his relationship with Mr Brown was strong.

Asked if he had ever felt bullied by the Prime Minister, he replied: "No. Never."

He said he had never called Mr Brown a bully, saying: "I work very closely with Gordon, I'm a great admirer of his. The two of us have worked exceptionally closely over the last three years and we're working exceptionally closely now.

"I've never referred to Gordon in that way. Look, we work very, very closely together. And come on, this is something that happened a couple of years ago and there are rather more important things in front of his mind and in front of my mind, the key thing being the economy."

Mr Darling also hit back at claims Mr Brown had encouraged staff to brief against his chancellor. He said: "I never suggested he ever was. I am very, very clear that the two of us have worked very closely together and will continue to work closely together and one thing that is crystal clear is that are absolutely united in believing that what the Tories would do to this country and the economy would be exceptionally damaging and very risky.

"That's why we're prepared to fight every inch of the way, because I think our view of what this country could be is by far the better one. I'm very confident about that and I'm relishing the work."

Mr Darling also used the visit to sound a note of caution about economic growth. He confirmed the economy had grown for a second consecutive quarter, but said the country is not out of trouble yet.

Mr Darling said: "The figures are very welcome but I remain of the view that there is still some way to go yet. There's a lot of uncertainty. If you look at the figures in this country, look at what's happening in Europe or the United States, unfortunately in some countries the growth has died down.

"So yes, the figures are welcome but it's important that we maintain support for our economy, not just here but in other countries too. To kick it away, as the Tories suggest, would present a risk to the economy that I'm not willing to take."

He continued: "I was always clear that if you come through a very deep recession of the sort we've seen throughout the world, it will take time to come through it. Now, I'm predicting growth of around one to 1.5% growth this year, which is moderate growth, but the key thing is to maintain our support for the economy until we've got the private sector coming back and confidence starting to grow so that they start making the investments.