Michael Gove has apologised for likening financial experts who warn against Brexit to Nazis denouncing Einstein.

Mr Gove, who chairs the Leave campaign, said on Wednesday: “Yes, I am sorry. I was asked a direct question and I answered it in a clumsy way with an inappropriate historical analogy.”

On Tuesday, the Justice Secretary said on LBC radio British citizens that should be dubious about the warning of economists that leaving the EU will hurt the economy.

He said: “We have to be careful about historical comparisons, but Albert Einstein during the 1930s was denounced by the German authorities for being wrong and his theories were denounced, and one of the reasons of course he was denounced was because he was Jewish.

“They got 100 German scientists in the pay of the government to say that he was wrong.”

His comments drew outcry, with David Cameron condemning the comparison.

The Prime Minister told Sky News: “To hear the Leave campaign today sort of comparing independent experts and economists to Nazi sympathisers – I think they have rather lost it.”

Within a day, Mr Gove had retracted his comments, adding in his apology: “I certainly didn’t mean to offend anyone with that so I regret it. I misspoke and I apologise."