Tory peer tells poor they have nothing to lose

The great grandson of renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud said he understood the reality of living on benefits stating: "You don't have to be the corpse to go to a funeral."

In an interview with parliamentary magazine The House, he said: "We've got the circumstances now where … people who are poorer should be prepared to take the biggest risks - they've got least to lose."

Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said: "The nasty party is well and truly back.

"This government's so-called welfare revolution is collapsing around its ears. The work programme isn't working.

"Universal Credit has become universal chaos. Yet Lord Freud's response is to kick people when they are down and not even pretend to offer a helping hand."