Tory peer says majority have 'never had it so good'

A senior adviser to the Prime Minister apologised last night after claiming that most of the population had "never had it so good".

Echoing the words of Harold Macmillan in 1957, Lord Young said that the "vast majority" of the population were better off since "this so-called recession" because of a reduction in mortgage rates.

David Cameron's Enterprise minister added that "people will wonder what all the fuss was about" when looking at government cuts in years to come. "Of course, there will be people who complain," he said, "but these are people who think they have a right for the state to support them."

In a sign of Number 10's desperation to pour cold water on the comments, Lord Young's apology was issued before the newspaper carrying the interview containing his remarks had even hit the news-stands. He wrote a letter to Mr Cameron to "apologise profoundly" for his "insensitive and inaccurate" comments.