Gordon Brown's recruitment yesterday of the leading City banker Mervyn Davies has heaped pressure on David Cameron to bring in his own reinforcements in the political battle over the recession.

The Conservative leader has assured senior colleagues that he will shake up his top team before the end of the month after being warned that reshuffle speculation is damaging morale in the party.

The Times has learnt that Mr Cameron is also planning to recruit a panel of leading City figures to advise the Conservatives through the downturn. The body of “wise men” is expected to include chief executives of FTSE-100 companies and will be seen as a further attempt to underpin the credibility of Conserviative economic policy.

Mr Cameron prepared the way to bring back Kenneth Clarke yesterday, reassuring the Right of his party by anointing William Hague as his deputy “in all but name”. George Osborne's allies insisted that he was consulted about Mr Hague's elevation, which puts the former leader on an equal footing with the Shadow Chancellor at the heart of the Tory high command.

They emphasised that Mr Osborne retains his title as election co-ordinator and would retain control of the campaign.

Commenting on his promotion, Mr Hague said: “I won't tread on George's toes. There is enough space out there for several people to be busily engaged.” Nevertheless, it was clear that Mr Osborne will have to share power with Mr Hague, who will now attend key meetings that were previously the preserve of Mr Cameron and his Shadow Chancellor.

Mr Osborne has let it be known that he favours a return for Mr Clarke, who is being lined up to confront Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary.

The 68-year-old former Chancellor's profile and stature was graphically confirmed yesterday when Mr Brown and Mr Cameron both called him in aid during Prime Minister's Questions.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Mr Clarke had spoken approvingly of a temporary cut in VAT as a way of stimulating the economy, prompting the Conservative leader to counter with another quotation from the former Chancellor that it was “unaffordable”.

Tellingly, Mr Cameron also praised the “golden inheritance” that Mr Clarke had handed to the incoming Labour administration in 1997, further evidence that the Tory leader is plotting his return. Mr Cameron faces a potentially awkward encounter with his existing Shadow Cabinet, however, when he hosts a “bonding session” with senior colleagues, some of whom he is preparing to sack.

His aides predicted that he would seek to make light of mounting speculation about a reshuffle at the start of a Shadow Cabinet “awayday” in Central London today. Nevertheless, he has been told that there is growing dismay at his handling of the shake-up among MPs and activists.

Although Mr Cameron had been prepared to wait for the outcome of a standards investigation into Caroline Spelman, his party chairman, before conducting what is likely to be his last reshuffle before a general election, aides made it clear that the Conservative leader had run out of patience and would move by the end of the month. Ms Spelman is tipped to swap jobs with Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary.

Lord Mandelson heaped praise on Labour's new recruit yesterday after the announcement that Mr Davies was resigning as chairman of Standard Chartered to become a trade minister.

The appointment was a “huge boost” for the Government, the Business Secretary said. “He will bring a wealth of experience and expertise on economic and financial and banking matters,” he said.

Mr Davies will not be paid a salary for the job, which will be split between the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

How Davies won his Spurs

1952 Born in Colwyn Bay. He speaks Welsh fluently and is interested in Welsh literature, art and music. He is married with two children

1997 Joined the Standard Chartered board

2001 Became chief executive of Standard Chartered

2002 Appointed CBE for his services to the financial sector and the community in Hong Kong

2006 Made chairman of Standard Chartered.

Davies is a non-executive director of Tottenham Hotspur and chairman of the council of the University of Wales, Bangor.

He also is chairman of the corporate board of the Royal Academy of Arts.

He has studied at Harvard Business School and is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers

Sources: Standard Life; Times archives

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