A government minister has apologised for saying he had to "watch the pennies" on his almost £90,000 salary.

Tobias Ellwood was criticised after he said that a planned 10% pay rise for MPs was "well overdue".

He said he had been trying to make a point about not deterring future MPs who were not wealthy, but recognised his comments were "insensitive".

The Bournemouth East MP earns a basic salary of £67,000 plus about £20,000 for his Foreign Office role.

MPs salaries are to rise from £67,060 to £74,000 - backdated to 8 May.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) - put in charge of MPs' pay after the 2009 expenses scandal - approved the salary increase despite appeals from Downing Street and many MPs who said it was inappropriate.

Ipsa says in future MPs' pay would rise in line with average rises in the public sector.

'Error of judgment'

During Ipsa's consultation, Mr Elwood, a junior Foreign Office minister, wrote to support the proposed pay increase.

In his submission, he said: "I know I speak for the silent majority (who are not millionaires) to say this increase is well overdue.

"I never expected to be watching the pennies at my age and yet this what I now have to do."

The Conservative MP had said he would be earning much more if he had stayed in his job in the armed forces.

However, his comments attracted criticism - prompting the minister to issue an apology "for the offence I've caused".

In a statement on his official Facebook page, he said he recognised that the remarks in his "confidential submission" were "inappropriate and insensitive" and an "error of judgment".

"Constituents' comments have been a stark personal reminder of the challenges everyone is facing and I am the wiser for it." he added.

'Out of touch'

Mr Ellwood said the submission had been a "private attempt" to express "a genuine concern" about MPs pay, which he said was lower than in other public sector jobs.

"Good candidates who are not so financially secure are being deterred from entering politics and this is not good for Parliament or the country.

"We need to attract the best from all walks of life to ensure that Parliament is as representative as possible of our society in terms of its diversity," he said.

But the MP said his comments had "underlined the perception that MPs are out of touch".

"That is something I very much regret and must now focus on repairing."