Gordon Brown’s target of reducing red tape for business by £4bn, is probably "overcooked", according to a senior National Audit Office (NAO) official.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ed Humpherson, assistant auditor general, questioned the model used by the government in coming up with the figures.

"The risk is that all of this good work is done by departments … and business does not really notice the difference," he told the FT.