Ken Clarke said he was "gloomy" about the UK's economic prospects
The UK's economic recovery is likely to take several years, shadow business secretary Ken Clarke has said.
Mr Clarke told the BBC that 2009 was set to be a "dreadful" year and should the Tories win the next election they would face a "difficult" economic task.
He said Labour was wasting billions on failed policies and markets were "losing confidence" in Gordon Brown.
On Europe, Mr Clarke said he did not expect UK entry into the euro to become a political issue again for many years.
'Gloomy'
Mr Clarke, who returned to the Conservative frontbench last week after 10 years on the backbenches, has been at odds with the Tory leadership over Europe for several years.
