Britons should not rush out to the shops and buy their Christmas presents early to beat spiralling inflation, a Treasury minister has said.

       Simon Clarke, the deputy to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, warned people not to develop a panic-buying “mindset” over rocketing prices.

       His remarks come after a survey showed UK consumers are more worried about surging costs than those in any other major global economy.

       The Bank of England has warned inflation is likely to hit 11 per cent by the end of the year, which would be its highest rate since January 1982.

       Energy prices are also set to go up by another 42 per cent in October when the price cap is lifted, with Ofgem forecasting it will hit ￡2,800.

       Mr Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was asked whether families should buy their Christmas presents now before prices rise further.

       He told Times Radio: “No and indeed, with inflation, it’s important that we don’t end up in that mindset ‘you need to buy today because it will be more expensive tomorrow’.

       “That’s precisely what we want to prevent here. And there is no need for that kind of response.”

       Economists have warned the UK is set to suffer a particularly severe inflation shock and will endure the highest rates in the G7 until 2024.

       A new poll by YouGov showed that seven in 10 Britons now expect the cost of living to “increase a lot” over the next 12 months.

       That compares to 59 per cent of Canadians and Italians, half of Germans and Americans, a fifth of Danes and 11 per cent of Chinese, according to the results reported by Bloomberg.

       As a result 61 per cent of UK families believe their financial situation will deteriorate, with more than a quarter fearful things will get “a lot worse”.

       Two-thirds of those surveyed said they plan to cut back on “non-essential spending” like holidays and meals out in response to rising prices.

       Six in ten said they will change their food shopping habits and cut their energy consumption, with only 16 per cent opting for more overtime at work.

       Almost half of families say they will have to save less as inflation rises, but only one in 10 plan to cope by borrowing more.