Minister in new 'green shoots' gaffe

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Just a week after another minister claimed there were "green shoots" of recovery, Employment Minister Tony McNulty suggested that things would get better on unemployment.

Mr McNulty told the BBC: "There is light at the end of the tunnel. It is some time off. This is not now life as we know it but we will get through it and people I think do need to understand that and cling to that hope."

The Tories immediately seized on his remarks, with shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May pointing out that they contrasted with today's unemployment figures.

"Labour's astonishing claim this morning that there is light at the end of the tunnel shows how out of touch they are. This is a Government that has clearly run out of ideas," she said. "The rising tide of unemployment will be of real concern to hard pressed families up and down the country."

A week ago, business minister Baroness Vadera claimed that she had seen "green shoots" of recovery, echoing former Tory chancellor Norman Lamont's notorious phrase.