UK inequality

Private schools which educate around 7% of all pupils, he said, continue to have a "stranglehold" on the country's top jobs.

The report found the judiciary remains "solidly and socially elitist", with 43% of barristers attending a fee paying secondary school and almost one third studying at Oxbridge.

Of the country's top journalists, 54% were privately educated with one third graduating from Oxbridge.

Privately educated MPs comprised 30% of the total in 1997, but after the 2010 election now comprise 35%, with just 13 private schools providing 10% of all Members of Parliament.

About 62% of members of the House of Lords, were privately educated, with 43% of the total having attended just 12 private schools.

independent.co.uk