Duncan slams Baroness Vadera's insensitive 'green shoots' comment

Alan Duncan has condemned Labour Minister Shriti Vadera for saying we are already seeing "the green shoots of economic recovery".

The Shadow Business Secretary said, "Shriti Vadera's comments go to show how out of touch and insensitive Gordon Brown's ministers are."

Business experts have stressed our economy is deteriorating at a frightening rate:

• The British Chambers of Commerce survey results were the worst since they began in 1989 
• The British Retail Consortium found that retail sales in December were the worst since they began collecting figures in 1995 
• The National Institute of Economic and Social Research showed that the UK economy's performance in the last three months of 2008 was the worst in 28 years. 
• The latest export figures show Britain's trade deficit is at a record high of £8.3 billion. 
• Data from Equifax showed that the number of business failures in 2008 was 18.2% higher than in 2007.

Alan said Baroness Vadera's comment showed "her unsuitability for addressing the difficulties that the victims of Gordon Brown's recession are facing."