PM says sorry over scrapping of 10p tax band

The beleaguered Prime Minister also insisted he would not be distracted by "gossip and rumour" amid a slew of criticism over his leadership.

Campaigning in the north-west of England ahead of council elections, Mr Brown was asked if he was "sorry" that the changes had been botched. He replied: "Of course, because it's unfortunate when things go wrong for people and we've tried to sort that out immediately over the last few days.

"But I do stress, as a result of the Budget, far more people are better off, people who are on low incomes are better off, people who are in poverty as families or as pensioners, many have been taken out of tax altogether."

David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, meanwhile tried to seize the mantle of crusader against poverty from Mr Brown when he called on the government to publish the latest figures on child poverty before Thursday's local elections in England.

Mr Cameron said that Mr Brown's passion had now become his failure."This was the government that promised social justice," he said. "But now, when you look at severe poverty, there are 600,000 more in severe poverty than a decade ago."

The Tory leader said that issues such as long-term unemployment and family breakdown needed to be tackled as part of an effective strategy to alleviate poverty.