As reports poured in of thousands of job losses across various sectors, Vadera said on lunchtime television news on : "I am seeing a few green shoots but it's a little bit too early to say exactly how they'd grow".

The remarks were immediately criticised by MPs who alleged Brown's ministers were 'living on another planet' and were 'insensitive' to the plight of thousands of people who had lost their jobs in the current economic downturn.

Many were reminded of the 'green shoots' remark by Chancellor Norman Lamont in the John Major government, when he famously claimed in 1991 that he had detected "the green shoots of economic spring", during the economic downturn, which had provoked widespread criticism.

Gujarat-origin Vadera, 46, is known in the halls of Westminster for her tough, no-nonsense approach in negotiations to ensure the implementation of Brown's policies.

Alan Duncan, the shadow business secretary, said: "Shriti Vadera's comments go to show how out of touch and insensitive Gordon Brown's ministers are."

He said Vadera had "just advertised her own unsuitability for addressing the difficulties that the victims of Gordon Brown's recession are facing."

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, called Vadera's comments "a work of fiction".

"Baroness Vadera is clearly living in a parallel universe if she thinks the economy is beginning to recover. With thousands of jobs being lost every day and many families at risk of repossession, recovery is sadly a long way off. Ministers shouldn't talk down the economy, but Vadera's comments are a work of fiction," he said.

Uganda-born Vadera was employed for 14 years at the investment bank UBS. Following Brown's appointment as Prime Minister, he appointed her as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development (DFID).

As a Minister, she had to go into Parliament, and, lacking a seat in the House of Commons, she was created a life peer on July 11, 2007 as Baroness Vadera.