Cameron advisor apologises for racist comments

One of Prime Minister David Cameron's top advisors has publicly apologised for racist comments he made 30 years ago that have just been made public.

Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin said on Wednesday comments he made to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1985, when several major British cities were gripped by riots, were "badly worded and wrong."

In a memo to Thatcher, Letwin blamed "bad moral attitudes" for rioting in mostly black inner city communities. He said white communities had lived for decades in similar conditions without rioting.

He was at the time an influential advisor to Thatcher and helped shape her government's response to the inner city disturbances.

The memo was released by the National Archives under a rule requiring government documents to be made public after three decades.