Pubs could be forced to close their doors early under “nanny state” measures to target harmful drinking.

In a move to roll back the “Continental cafe-style of drinking culture” introduced by Sir Tony Blair, Andrew Gwynne, the public health minister, said the Government was considering “tightening up the hours of operation” of bars and pubs.

Mr Gwynne said the idea was being examined by ministers as part of efforts to improve health and tackle anti-social behaviour.

Prof Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer, has told ministers that if current trends continue, 60 per cent of the NHS budget will eventually be spent on diseases that could have been prevented. The current figure is 40 per cent.

The crackdown on drinking is under consideration alongside measures to target obesity, including pushing the food industry to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content of everyday foods.

Insisting Labour was “not the fun police” nor “supernanny”, Mr Gwynne said the case for such measures was both moral and economic.

He said the state of Britain’s poor health was “morally reprehensible” and that “bluntly there isn’t enough money” for the NHS to cope with rising demand without such actions.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said Labour was considering banning smoking in pub gardens, despite warnings it could be the “death knell” of the pub.

Speaking at the Labour conference, Mr Gwynne said: “These are discussions that we have got to have – even if it’s just about tightening up on some of the hours of operation; particularly where there are concerns that people are drinking too much.”

Chris Snowdon, the head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the move was at odds with the introduction of laws allowing pubs to apply for 24-hour drinking licences under Sir Tony’s government.

“The last Labour government’s decision to relax licensing laws was a great success but it seems the new Government wants to hammer pubs any way it can,” he said.