BBC radio host Jeremy Vine has slammed British workers for being lazy, claiming they get up late and do not work as hard as migrant labour.

Speaking to a Polish caller on his Radio Two show, he insinuated that British workers “seem to be unable to hear alarm clocks” and suggested they “do not want to come in early in the morning or work hard”.

He also said that he “drew a blank” when thinking about why British workers are like this – something with which the caller agreed.

The BBC host was discussing revelations of harsh working practices at Amazon’s depot in Dunfermline, Scotland, where undercover journalists found that workers were threatened with dismissal if they took more than four days off sick.

Investigators found that some workers were even living in tents near the site.

However, one caller to the show who is originally from Poland said she did not feel sorry for people working there as “they can always find different jobs”.

“If they don’t feel comfortable working under pressure… they can always find something else,” she added, something that Jeremy Vine appeared to agree with.

Last month, a pro-EU British peer was criticised after saying British needed immigrants because native Brits are “so bloody stupid”.

Lord (John) Kerr of Kinlochard, who helped the European Union write the Lisbon Treaty, said Britain needs more intelligent migrants to “wake up” the native population.

“We native Brits are so bloody stupid that we need an injection of intelligent people, young people from outside who come in and wake us up from time to time,” he said.

Conservative MP Peter Lilley described the comments as “odious”, saying: “I think these comments revealed the contempt that some Eurocrats like Lord Kerr have for ordinary British people.

“They think they are there to rule the country and hugely resent any interference by the electorate.”