A NORTH-EAST businessman who sparked outrage after describing the Queen Mother's body as "whiffy" has been named UK entrepreneur of the year.

Dave Charlton, founder and chairman of menswear chain The Officers Club, was forced to make a swift apology over the gaffe made in a radio interview.

Mr Charlton, who formed his clothing chain in Sunderland in 1992 and has seen it grow to 191 stores across the UK, had been commenting about the length of time between the Queen Mother's death in April and her funeral.

His remark provoked a barrage of complaints to the switchboard at BBC Radio Newcastle causing him to later claim he was "just trying to raise a smile at a difficult time".

Yesterday, he had further cause for a smile after being named UK Entrepreneur of the Year in the consumer services of the highly acclaimed Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

The awards, in London, counted Chancellor Gordon Brown among the guests.

Mr Charlton runs the UK's largest sole menswear retailer with a turnover of more than £100m. It expects to increase its chain to a network of more than 450 stores within the next five years.

The outspoken businessman has claimed that the company's concept of shaving up to 70 per cent off from high street prices was "unique".

But, he says, it has now been copied by other retailers flooding the high street.

Nevertheless, his firm has continued to expand and has bought 65 Hammells clothing stores, which were part of the former C&A empire.

Commenting on his award, Mr Charlton said: "In recent years, both myself and The Officers Club have won a number of awards, but it is the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards that are the most important to me.

"These awards are voted on by my peers, so to know that your peers and even your competitors recognise what you are doing is a fantastic feeling."