THE British Prime Minister, Mr Major, said last night that going into the ERM was a mistake politically, hut stressed that economically it had done the country some good, helping to "kill inflation".
Mr Major appeared to say sorry for the vast sums of money lost when the pound was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, adding: "Events made a monkey of us."
Meanwhile a leak to the press and the continuing rumpus over the racist and sexist comments of a right-wing MP overshadowed yesterday's launch of the Conservative Party's latest "Big Idea" for the general election.
Mr Major was obliged to condemn remarks by the maverick Tory MP, Mr David Evans, at a press conference called to announce what the Prime Minister called "the most fundamental enhancement of the state pension scheme since it was first introduced".
The Tory proposals for a radical overhaul of Britain's pensions system envisage a new lifetime personal pension scheme for everyone entering the world of work.
Over time the Conservative proposals would shift the pensions burden from taxpayers and the state to a system in which individuals build their own managed schemes.
Mr Major and Mr Peter Lilley claimed the massive welfare shake-up, which will form the flagship of the Tory manifesto, would extend personal ownership by at least as much as the sale of council houses in the 1980s.
Mr Major said the private pension plan, to be phased in over a generation, would eventually cut public spending by £40 billion a year.
It was claimed the scheme, believed to be modelled on a Chilean pensions framework, could see a person on average wages of around £350 a week build a fund worth £130,000 over his or her working life.
The proposals are prompted by the pressing problem of providing security for an ageing population, and reflect the changes in society since the Welfare State was set up after the second World War.
Then there were five working people contributing to each pensioner, while by the year 2030, three times as many pensioners will be depending on the same number of working people.
Mr Major stressed that the plan, which is called the "Basic Pension Plus", would not affect current pension provisions.
These would continue to be increased by at least the rate of inflation.
But in future young people entering the job market will receive a National Insurance rebate of around £9 a week to contribute to their pension plan.
Mr Major said: "The entitlement of the current working generation to the basic pension and SERPS [the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme] will remain the same. The package is about increasing security in retirement, not threatening it.
However, he added: "This reform will mean British people will be able to look forward to retirement with even greater confidence.
It offers our young people a pensions opportunity that, quite literally, will be unrivalled throughout the world."