The former head of the CBI has said he has been made the "fall guy" for a wider crisis within Britain's biggest business lobbying group, amid allegations of drug use and rape.

Tony Danker said his reputation has been "totally destroyed" by the misconduct claims, which were unrelated to his dismissal but came to light around the same time.

Mr Danker was sacked by the CBI following an investigation into claims he sent staff members unsolicited messages. 

In his first interview since his dismissal, Mr Danker acknowledged that he had made some staff feel "very uncomfortable" and apologised.

Read how Mr Danker said his termination letter had cited four reasons for dismissal. 

As inflation fell to 10.1pc in March, Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics, said:

Inflation eased slightly in March, but remains at a high level.

The main drivers of the decline were motor fuel prices and heating oil costs, both of which fell after sharp rises at the same time last year.

Clothing, furniture and household goods prices increased, but more slowly than a year ago.

As inflation remained above 10pc, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said:

These figures reaffirm exactly why we must continue with our efforts to drive down inflation so we can ease pressure on families and businesses.

We are on track to do this – with the OBR forecasting we will halve inflation this year - and we'll continue supporting people with cost-of-living support worth an average of £3,300 per household over this year and last, funded through windfall taxes on energy profits.

Despite falling in March, Britain's inflation rate was the highest in Western Europe.

Last month the Bank of England said it expected inflation to "fall significantly" in the second quarter. In February, the Bank of England had forecast March inflation of 9.2pc.

While inflation is likely to fall naturally as the sharp increases in energy prices seen last year fall out of the annual comparison, the Bank is trying to judge how fast it will decline.

Recent indicators have looked mixed on that front, with data on Tuesday showing stronger-than-expected wage growth. Business surveys however show cooling cost and selling price pressure.

Financial markets on Tuesday pointed to a roughly 80pc chance that the BoE will raise interest rates next month.

The rate of consumer prices index inflation decreased to 10.1pc in March from 10.4pc in February, the Office for National Statistics said.

Inflation has remained above 10pc as soaring food prices heap pressure on households.

The consumer prices index slipped to 10.1pc in March, down from 10.4pc in February.

However, economists had expected the figure to drop into single digits for the first time since August last year.

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1) Murdoch settles Fox News defamation case | The decision averts one of the biggest US defamation trials in decades

2) Netflix to close mail-order DVD service as online subscribers recover | The streaming giant has also delayed plans to crack down on account holders sharing passwords

3) Putin threatens Europe with fresh gas crisis | Fears over a new surge in prices as Russia's Gazprom warns over winter supplies

4) Thomasina Miers’ Wahaca restaurants ditch steak to go green | Celebrity chef's Mexican food chain abandons bestselling meat dishes to reduce carbon footprint

5) HSBC shareholder accuses bosses of exaggerating risks of split | Attack on bosses latest development in campaign to split bank's Asian and Western arms

What happened overnight 

Asian equities fell as traders weighed earnings from Wall Street and Chinese stocks were hit by shareholders' plans to trim their stakes.

MSCI's Asia Pacific Index declined 0.4oc while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid as much as 1.5pc before paring losses. 

Shares of some Korean drama production studios also slipped after Netflix's subscriber numbers trailed Wall Street estimates.

Wall Street's main equity indexes closed little changed on Wall Street following a mixed set of corporate earnings reports, including Goldman Sachs. 

The S&P 500 rose 0.1pc to 4,154.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1pc to 33,976.63.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite also fell less than 0.1pc to 12,153.41.

The yields on longer-dated US government bonds retreated after Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said that the central bank could only have one more interest rate hike ahead. 

The yield on 10-year Treasury dipped by 1.3 basis points to 3.578pc, while the two-year US Treasury yield climbed 2.8 basis points to 4.216pc.