Shadow higher education minister Liam Byrne called on the Tories yesterday to "confess" that raising tuition fees was a disaster after a new study revealed many graduates will never repay their debt.

The Labour MP said the Sutton Trust report proved the £9,000-a-year system is "unsustainable and unfair."

The Trust warned that most graduates will be coughing up loan repayments into their 50s - and three-quarters will never earn enough to clear the debt.