Presenter Janet Street-Porter apologised on Loose Women after appearing to compare micro-chipping children to the Nazis tattooing Jewish people.

The panel were discussing whether parents should tag their children so that they would know where they are at all times, and the journalist, who is 70, said she found the idea “offensive”.

She said: “I find it’s treating children as badly as we treat prisoners.

“We tag prisoners and during the last world war Jews had triangles and had tattoos put on them and it was just absolutely offensive.

“And I find this idea of sticking a microchip inside an innocent child…”

However, Janet was interrupted by fellow panellist Jane Moore who said the two could not be compared.

She then backtracked and said she had not intended to upset anybody with her comments.

“All right, I’m not comparing it and I apologise if I’ve offended people for that,” she said.