THE Guardian newspaper has apologised for an editorial that suggested David Cameron only felt "privileged pain" over the death of his son.
In extracts of his memoirs, the former prime minister praised the NHS care his disabled son Ivan (6) received before he died in 2009.
However, the paper asked whether Mr Cameron "might have understood the damage his policies have done" if he sought care for a dying parent rather than a child.
"Mr Cameron has known pain and failure in his life but it has always been limited failure and privileged pain," it wrote.
It removed the remarks within hours of publication.
"The original version of an editorial posted online yesterday fell far short of our standards," a spokesman said.
"It was changed significantly within two hours, and we apologise completely."
A screenshot of the paragraph about Mr Cameron's son was widely shared online.
Chancellor Sajid Javid said it was a "shameful thing to read".
"Never has an editorial so lacked in empathy, while so righteously criticising others for lacking it," he said.
Liberal Democrat MP Angela Smith also condemned the remarks as "entirely inappropriate".
"I don't believe in the politics of class warfare," she said.
"The majority of parliamentarians are trying to do a decent job and I think the use of those terms must have been very hurtful to David Cameron."
In the extract of his memoirs published in The Sunday Times, Mr Cameron recalled taking his son to hospital when he was a few days old.
"When you watch your tiny baby undergoing multiple blood tests, your heart aches," he wrote.
"When they bend him back into the foetal position to remove fluid from the base of his spine with a long, threatening-looking needle, it almost breaks."
