Firstly, to all whom reply - Thank you for your input

I'll try and keep this brief (turkey)

I'm nearly 3 years into a Molecular Biology pHD and frankly the whole things been a disaster. I was poor in my first year, resources have frequently run out, my collaborators promised me things that never materialised, 2 years of my work turned into a dead end scientifically. You name it, its happened.

My supervisor isnt terrible, hes made mistakes with the planning of my PhD but so have I so I accept that its just one of those things. Issue I now have is that the powers that be are desperate to get students out the door (i'm at a old poly tech with a poor reputation), research/data wise I have nothing. Seriously I've got nothing I could even attempt to publish.

I've always been very frank with my supervisor, i'll do whatever it takes to get the data I need, if it means I have to work unpaid in my lab for 6 months after my 3 years is up i'll do it. However the powers that be are putting presure on me to get sorted and out the door, this is despite many previous students just scraping the 4 year submission mark (we have a brand new dean that doesnt like this). If i'm forced to write up without the data I need i'll fail or get a Mphil if i'm lucky, which is unacceptible to me (I already have a MSc) so i'm refusing to write up unless I can publish at least one paper or short communication etc.

Worst case for me is to work unpaid for several months, write up, fail and carry massive financial debt. I think it will be best now to just accept that it just didnt work out, cut my losses and leave now. Im thinking I want to work as a lab tech for a few years then have another go at a PhD. I dont think i'm a horrendous student nor do I especially blame anyone else for the failure of the project, it just didnt work out.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? or doesnt anyone have any advice as to how I can approach this to my supervisor (we dont have a difficult relationship or anything and i've expressed my concerns before).

Any comments will be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading. (up)

Try atleast for an MPhil. This will save you 1.5 years if you study for PhD again in future.
Writing for publications is a very good idea before Submission. But, I also have heard that many people gained PhD after failing in the overall task as well. I think it depends on your supervisor.
Working part time seems an attractive option or you can also take a leave of absence for 3-6 months to work on publication whilst keeping a temp job and save...

I say do the MPhil too. This demonstrates that you can do serious research. It makes me angry to read about the almost complete lack of respect for the MPhil. It is every bit as hard work as the PhD. Take a look at other threads to see the value of doing a MPhil first then PhD.

Publication can take 3-4 years sometimes so I wouldn't concern yourself with that. Your supervisors may have made mistakes but look at the effect its had on you! Seriously, universities need to take all of these supervisors aside and inform them about how to treat they customers (thats you!). Think about this, you're paying them for a service, not the other way around believe me!