A British government minister has been forced to apologise after he said that some disabled people were “not worth” the country’s minimum wage and some could be paid less than a third of the rate.<\/p>\n
David Freud, the Tory minister for welfare reform, on Wednesday made a\u00a0“full and unreserved apology” after it was revealed he made the comments during a meeting on the fringes of the Conservative Party’s conference last month.<\/p>\n
In the recording, Freud is heard responding to a question about the disabled: “There is a small … there is a group, and I know exactly who you mean, where actually as you say they\u2019re not worth the full wage.”<\/p>\n
He goes on to say that someone who wants to work for less than the minimum wage, currently the\u00a0equivalent of $10.35 an hour, should be allowed to do so, and specifically refers to a rate equivalent to $3.20.<\/p>\n
The leader of the opposition, Ed Miliband, called for the resignation of Freud. “Surely someone holding those views can\u2019t possibly stay in his government,” he said.<\/p>\n