Alistair Darling believes Gordon Brown is the “right person to lead this country” and wants his Labour Colleagues to “get behind” the prime minister. He added that people expect the government to tackle the “unprecedented turbulence” in the financial market.

Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee is due to discuss rebel MPs’ call for leadership nomination forms to be sent out to all Labour MPs. So far twelve MPs have requested forms, but 70 would be needed for a contest.

On Monday a middle-ranking, government minister – who chose not to be named – said he was considering resigning over Mr Browns leadership, saying: “You can’t go on saying ‘I think Gordon Brown is the man to lead us to victory’ when you don’t believe it.”

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said there was talk among Gordon Brown’s enemies that as many as “five or six” ministers were at the point of resigning.

The Chancellor said that what concerned people was issues like the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers – which in turn has seen shares fall in leading Asian markets.

He said: “What I’d say is this, to my colleagues in particular, if you look at the front pages today, people of this country, as in other parts of the world, are concerned that at this time of unprecedented turbulence, we do everything we can to resolve these problems.

“That’s what we should be looking at.”

He added: “I have every confidence in Gordon Brown. I believe he is the right person to lead this country and to lead our party and I know that at the conference next week he will set out his vision for the future.”

The prime minister is holding a political cabinet meting from 0830 BST, where party issues such as the upcoming conference will be discussed, as well s his weekly cabinet meeting. He is expected to attend at least part of the NEC meeting from 1000 BST.

On Monday it was announced MP Barry Gardiner, one of the 12 requesting nomination papers, had left his position as special envoy for forestry “by mutual consent”. This followed the news that Labour vice chair Joan Ryan and junior whip Siobhain McDonagh were sacked for calling a leadership challenge.

McDonagh, on Friday, said: “If they refuse a leadership contest, people will ask ‘what has Brown got to be afraid of?’.”