Inequality has reached its highest point since the Second World War, the government's own panel on the subject has found.

The National Equality Panel report, commissioned by women's minister Harriet Harman, found inequality had reached its highest level since records began being taken by the government.

A comparison with measures based on tax records revealed the UK was experiencing the highest level of income inequality since "soon after the Second World War".

For all employees, real earnings remained mostly static between 2003 and 2008 at around 106% of 1999 levels, but the real earnings of the CEOs of the top 100 companies more than doubled between 1999 and 2007, reaching £2.4 million.

The report shows the UK now how the seventh worst level of inequality in the OECD, ahead of only Mexico, Turkey, Portugal the United States, Poland and Italy.

"It is truly shocking that after 13 years of a Labour government, inequality has grown to the highest levels seen since the Second World War," said shadow women's minister Theresa May.


"It is unbelievable that Labour thinks it can claim to be the party of aspiration when its failure to tackle the causes of poverty have let down so many lives."

Social mobility rates remain stubbornly low. The report found no evidence that rates relative occupational mobility have changed at all since the early 1970s
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