Gordon Brown today firmly ruled out an early public spending review as the row between the two party leaderships over the economy became more bitter and personalised.

The Prime Minister told David Cameron it would be "completely wrong" to have a review in the middle of a recession, when it was impossible to predict future performance.

Mr Cameron had accused Mr Brown of "deceit" in the way he was presenting figures for capital and current spending, while Mr Brown hit back and called the Conservatives the party of unemployment, claiming that Mr Cameron was planning on the jobless total rising to 2014.

During another question time dominated by spending claims and counter claims, the Prime Minister said Tory spending plans were based on unemployment continuing to rise “because you will do absolutely nothing about it”. Mr Cameron retorted that it was Labour policies putting people out of work, adding: “There’s only one person we want to put on the unemployment register and that’s the Prime Minister.”

But earlier Lord Mandelson accused George Osborne of a "deliberate untruth" after the shadow chancellor claimed he was denied access to official information.

Yeterday, Mr Osborne said the Prime Minister had intervened to stop him seeing a database which would help him decide how to reduce public spending. Mr Osborne pledged to publish the data so the public could "know the truth".

In a statement, Lord Mandelson said the "very serious allegation" was rejected by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell. It was Sir Gus who made the decision to refuse the request without reference to Mr Brown.

"There is a very unattractive pattern of behaviour that is starting to emerge with George Osborne, of innuendo in pursuit of a smear," Lord Mandelson said.

Lord Mandelson told the BBC News channel: "Mr Osborne had said something about the Prime Minister which he knows to be untrue.

Mr Osborne said on Tuesday ministers had turned down a request for the opposition to look at a database - known as the Combined Online Information System - which lists government spending in 12,000 categories.

He said: "He (Brown) has denied us access to that information"

"Gordon Brown is denying to the opposition the information on spending items in the government budget which would help us plan for government, help us plan for dealing with the debt crisis," he said.

"That makes our life as an opposition more difficult but, more to the point for the country, it means the country doesn't know the truth about where their money is going."

A Downing Street spokesman said the request was a matter for senior civil servants and it would be "completely inappropriate" for the Prime Minister to become involved.

He said there were normal conventions surrounding information made available to the opposition and the prime minister believed these should be followed.

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