Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud has issued a "full and unreserved apology" after suggesting that some disabled people are "not worth" the minimum wage - but stopped short of resigning.
The Tory peer said he had been "foolish" in "accepting the premise" of a question posed to him during a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference last month.
Defence Minister Anna Soubry has offered her support to her under-fire Tory colleague Lord Freud after he was attacked for comments about disabled workers.
Speaking to a Conservative councillor, he suggested certain disabled workers were "not worth" the national minimum wage.
Audio: Lord Freud suggests some disabled workers 'not worth full wage'
But Ms Soubry said his words had been "taken out of context" and that Lord Freud was "one of the kindest and most compassionate of people".
She told BBC Radio 4: ""It is a real problem we have now in British politics where people take something, often out of context, spin it around, stick it in the internet on social media, and suddenly there is a flurry ... I'm not going to play that game."
Questions to be asked over meaning behind Lord Freud's comments relating to disabled workers.
Ed Miliband has called for Tory Lord Freud to resign after he suggested some disabled workers are 'not worth' the full minimum wage