Treasury Minister David Gauke has defended the controversial business rates revaluation amid growing concerns that the shake-up could lead to firms closing and staff being laid off.

Ministers are facing a backlash over the proposals to update business rates for the first time in seven years, which are set to come into force in April.

Mr Gauke said the out-of-date rates needed to brought in line with property values and that three in four businesses would not see an increase in their tax bill.

He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: " It is right that we bring it up to date. It is also right that there is transitional support for the one in four businesses that are seeing an increase in their business rates and we have got a £3.6 million transitional package to smooth that increase.

"It is right that we bring business rates values up to date to reflect current rental values."

His comments came after influential trade organisations, including the British Retail Consortium, wrote to the Government to call for a rethink on plans to tighten the appeals process, making it more difficult for firms to challenge unfair increases in their business rates.

Mr Gauke said the aim was to crack down on speculative appeals which were "clogging up the system", often brought by no-win no-fee claimants.

He said: "Nobody is going to be stopped from appealing. We have to recognise what is currently happening in the system is that there are a huge number of very speculative appeals that are going in, first encouraged by agencies on a no-win no-fee basis, chancing their arm hoping that there will be a reduction in their business rates.

"That is frankly clogging up the system and getting in the way of appeals for those who have a genuine problem, where maybe there has been a mistake or an error, and that process is much slower than it should be. "

His intervention comes after numerous negative reports about the proposals, which could affects thousands of independent shops, small pubs and rural businesses.

The Federation of Small Businesses has complained that the system is "increasingly unfair and outdated, with many facing arbitrary hikes in their bills".

An analysis by Gerald Eve, a firm that advises businesses on rates and property, suggests NHS hospitals and GP surgeries could see a £635 million hike in their business rates over the next five years.

The Institute of Directors has called on Chancellor Philip Hammond to tackle anomalies that see high street shops pay higher rates on small premises than online giants do for vast warehouses.

Ministers are also facing a backlash after official figures suggested the Treasury could take in an extra £1 billion after the revaluation.

The Government has said the predicted extra revenue is the result of growth and new properties coming into the system, and not due to existing business ratepayers being charged more.

However, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid denied the accusations that the revaluation amounted to a "stealth tax", insisting the Treasury "won't make one penny more" as a result of the changes.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he highlighted a £6.7 billion package of rate relief to lift 600,000 firms out of paying rates and said three-quarters of English businesses will see their rates fall or stay the same, with boosts for pubs, the retail sector and rural businesses.

Retail expert Mary Portas warned that the revaluation will "cripple" high street shops in areas where house prices have increased.

"The tax bill which will hit retailers from April will be the single biggest blow to independent shops since the financial crisis," she wrote in the newspaper.

"I would estimate that at least a third of them will die off."