Candice Brown blasted Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves despite the politician's claims she is backing UK businesses. The Great British Bake Off star, who won the Channel 4 show in 2016, now runs a popular pub, The Green Man in Milton Keynes, now fears for the future. Ahead of her Spring statement, the Chancellor was warned about the brutal impact Labour's tax raids were having on the pub industry. Industry leaders said Ms Reeves was "crushing" Britain's gin distilleries and hurting pub trade after her duty hikes came into force at the end of January.

Candice, 40, took to social media on April 7 and admitted she is "terrified" having to find extra money to cover tax increases. Pubs and other hospitality businesses are bracing themselves for another financial hit due to a combination of increased National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and rising minimum wages which came into force this month.

On Monday, Ms Reeves took to X and said: "We are backing British business in a changing world. Protecting jobs and delivering security for working people."

Candice retweeted the post as she took aim at the Labour Chancellor for "kicking down" hard-working Britons.

She fumed: "Really Rachel??? Own a small business do you? Got to find 140% increase in tax rates have you? Got to find all that extra money in tax have you? Want to come to my pub and explain to customers why prices are going up again??? Didn’t think so! Ridiculous and brutal. Furious."

The chief executive of UKHospitality, Kate Nicholls told the Daily Mail, “The impacts will be stark, with hours for staff reduced, trading hours shortened, prices increased and, in the worst case scenario, jobs lost".

Candice replied: "Genuinely terrified as to what we are going to do and where we are supposed to find all this extra money."

The Bake Off winner was supported by First Dates star Merlin Griffiths, who wrote: "Not even Bake Off winners are immune from this. Seriously, how much pain does a sector have to endure?"

To which Candice followed up: "Honestly @MerlinFDC4 I am terrified every day. I work everyday in and for my pub, have done since we had it. This is beyond brutal what is going on. Hard work doesn’t pay off. It rewards others, kicks you when your down and takes everything you have and still comes back for more."

Prices could increase and staff working hours fall as the rise in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) comes into force on Sunday, ministers have been warned.

The rate of employer NICs will go up by 1.2 percentage points from 13.8% to 15%, and the payments will start when an employee earns £5,000, down from the previous level of £9,100.

The tax increase comes as businesses are also dealing with a 6.7% rise in the minimum wage which came into force last week.

Ms Reeves said at last year’s Budget that the move would raise £25 billion per year by 2029, and that she did not “take this decision lightly”.

The Conservatives have accused the Government of “slamming businesses with a punishing jobs tax”.