Wen Jiabao’s family has threatened legal action over a media report claiming his relatives amassed vast wealth during his tenure as China’s premier.

Lawyers representing the family said a New York Times story alleging Mr Wen’s relatives had a $2.7bn fortune was “untrue”, according to Hong Kong media. They said the family “reserve the right to hold it [the New York Times] legally responsible”.

It is rare for senior Chinese leaders to criticise publicly foreign media reports and threaten legal action. The story is particularly damaging for Mr Wen who has tried to cultivate a reputation as the clean “People’s Premier”. Cheng Li, a Chinese politics expert at Brookings Institution, said the move to criticise the story so directly was “unprecedented” and could serve as a model for Chinese leaders in dealing with critical reports.