Sajid Javid, business secretary, has called for emergency corporate and personal tax cuts to avert a Brexit slump, confirming that cutting the deficit was no longer the priority.

Mr Javid said the focus now was on “more economic growth”, admitting that the combination of a downturn and a new fiscal stimulus could cause the budget deficit to rise from 3 per cent of GDP to as high as 5 per cent.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the business secretary set out his own five-point plan to bolster an economy braced for a post-Brexit recession, including tax breaks for companies to boost investment.

Mr Javid had been supporting a bid by Stephen Crabb, work and pensions secretary, to become Tory leader. Mr Crabb abandoned the race on Tuesday night, shifting his support to Theresa May, home secretary.

Mr Javid’s plan for growth mirrors an alternative five-point plan set out on Monday in the Financial Times by George Osborne, chancellor.

Mr Javid backed his ally Mr Osborne’s calls for a cut in the headline rate of corporation tax to below 15 per cent, but he went further — suggesting a range of unfunded tax cuts.

He advocated a doubling in tax credits for research and development, increasing the annual investment allowance and excluding new plant and machinery from business rates. At the same time he called for a £1,000 increase in the threshold at which people start paying income tax.

“I don’t think it is realistic to assume that the surplus target can be held in this parliament,” he said.

Mr Osborne has abandoned his plan to deliver a surplus by 2020 but still insists that fiscal restraint would continue.

Mr Javid said it would now “take longer” to get down to zero per cent. “I don’t think it will happen in this parliament. Does it mean 3 per cent becomes 4 per cent or 5 per cent? I don’t think anyone can say at this point.”

Mr Javid also wants the UK to borrow tens of billions of pounds — taking advantage of low borrowing rates — to create a “Growing Britain” fund worth up to £100bn.

The comments show just how far the Tory government’s attempts to reduce Britain’s debts, which until now have been a priority for ministers, have been blown off course by the shock result on June 24.

Mr Javid is a one-time Eurosceptic who surprised some colleagues when he joined the Remain camp earlier this year, earning him the enmity of some on the Tory right and wrecking his own leadership prospects.

He said his reaction to the result was “shock” — given that the City, the bookmakers and the pollsters had predicted an In vote — but also an acceptance that work had to start immediately to shore up business confidence.

Although he said it was “too early” to assess the short-term damage to the economy, Mr Osborne has not withdrawn his assertion that Britain will be tipped into a recession by the Brexit vote.

Mr Javid admitted some international investors are worried: “There’s an extra degree of caution and some have indicated they might want to hold off and reprice their investment,” he said.

The minister said he has been listening to myriad concerns from a number of business leaders about the impact of Brexit.

His plan calls for all EU migrant workers who were in Britain on the day of the vote to be given the right to remain.

The minister also called for all medium-term EU economic grants awarded to British firms and regions — up until 2020 — to be guaranteed by the government.

He signalled that leaving the EU could be positive for British business because it would allow ministers to identify unnecessary red tape that could be “shredded”. There would also be a moratorium on new business regulation.

Yet — in comments that should reassure unions — he indicated that employment law would not be torn up by a post-Brexit Tory government.

As for anyone still harbouring the idea that Britain may yet stay in the EU, Mr Javid has a clear message: “There is no going back, it will be implemented.”