Gordon Brown fully agrees with the Chancellor's dire assessment of the UK economic outlook, a Cabinet minister has said.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw dismissed claims of tensions after Alistair Darling warned global conditions were the worst since the 1940s, and no-one knew how bad things would get.
Mr Straw also insisted there would be no challenge to the PM's leadership this autumn - although he admitted there had been "lively" debate within Labour circles over the summer.
The intervention came after the Chancellor risked undermining the Government's latest fightback before it even began, by painting a startlingly negative picture of Britain's prospects.
Mr Darling was forced to take to the airwaves to "clarify" his views after telling the Guardian that conditions were "arguably the worst they've been in 60 years".
His gloomy assessment contrasted sharply with more optimistic statements delivered by Mr Brown, who has repeatedly stressed the "resilience" of the UK economy. Mr Darling also raised eyebrows by warning that the public were "p***ed off" with Labour, and acknowledging that colleagues thought they could do his job better.
The Tories immediately claimed the Chancellor had "let the cat out of the bag" and proved that Government was divided at the top level.
But Mr Straw told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show that the Cabinet was completely in step. He stressed that Mr Darling had been referring to the worldwide impact of the credit crunch and soaring food prices, rather than Britain's situation specifically.
"The message from Gordon, from Alistair, from colleagues like myself has been the same," he said. "We have had a very good period of economic success, which has for sure provided us with a very serious platform to weather (these problems)."
Asked whether Mr Brown agreed with Mr Darling's assessment of the economy, Mr Straw replied: "Of course."
