Gordon Brown came under fire last night as business leaders criticised the recently announced 50p income tax rate.

The prime minister attended the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual dinner on Wednesday night and was confronted over the recent Budget announced by chancellor Alistair Darling.

CBI president Martin Broughton told Mr Brown he saw the new tax rate as an attempt to “divert media attention” from the “failure” to address the spending deficit.

“Tearing up the manifesto commitment to the country’s entrepreneurial class – the major job creators – was nothing short of economic vandalism. What’s more – the tax take is likely to be minimal,” he added.

In response, the prime minister told business leaders that he regretted the decision to raise the top rate of tax had had to be made.

“It is not my desire, or my wish… to raise the top rate of tax. That is not something we wanted to do,” Mr Brown said.

“But we have to have a plan for sustainable public finances. And included in that must be decisions that we made about taxation.”

The prime minister pointed out that his government had cut the basic rate of tax from 23p to 20p and cut corporation tax from 33p to 28p.

“We have to make long-term decisions for our country based on what we believe is both fiscally affordable and necessary to do,” he argued.

“I don’t like doing it as much as you won’t like the measure but I say to you if we are to restore our public finances, coming through a difficult recession… we have a duty to act.”