A Conservative MP has likened the tabloid media to a Nazi concentration camp.

Zac Goldsmith, who represents the Richmond Park constituency, made the remark in front of a parliamentary inquiry into privacy and injunctions standards.

Mr Goldsmith said that a business that could only stay afloat "by engaging in immoral or unethical behaviour" was no sustainable.

He said: "Nobody said, for example, that Auschwitz should have been kept open because it created jobs. This is just a non-argument."

The comment drew criticism on Twitter and Mr Goldsmith subsequently admitted that he should have made his point "citing something different".

The MP appeared at the panel today alongside actor Hugh Grant, who has alleged that the details of his relationship with Mr Goldsmith's sister Jemima emerged in the press because his phone was hacked.

A spokesperson from the Holocaust Educational Trust said in response to Mr Goldsmith's gaffe: "Zac Goldsmith has said that he could or should have cited a different example and we agree."