George Osborne overrode strong objections from the Foreign Office when he made the controversial decision to join China’s Asian Infrastructure bank, the Financial Times has learnt.

Officials in China and the UK have told the FT the chancellor rejected the concerns of British diplomats, who warned that the decision would alienate allies in Japan and the US. Mr Osborne only secured support for his stance by raising the issue at a meeting of the National Security Council, at which the prime minister gave his assent.

The announcement that Britain would join the bank, which some people n the US see as a rival to the Washington-based World Bank, was quickly criticised by the Obama administration. But the government in London felt vindicated by the later decision of six other European countries to follow suit.