Axed 'Apprentice': 'I had more to offer'

Fired Apprentice candidate Ben Clarke has insisted that he had more to offer than his rivals.

The 22-year-old stockbroker from Belfast was axed by Sir Alan Sugar yesterday, with the multi-millionaire claiming that the "light at the end of the tunnel" had gone out for Ben.

Speaking afterwards, Ben insisted that Sugar made the wrong decision in eliminating him from the contest.

"I didn't want to go this distance. I wanted to go the full way and I wanted to bloody well win it," he said.

"I felt I could win it. I am still adamant that I am better than James [McQuillan], I am probably overall better than Debra [Barr] as well."

He added: "I really could have shown I had a lot more to offer."

Before he went back to the boardroom, Ben had claimed that there was "no way in hell" he was leaving the competition.

"I'm making it to the final and I'm making it right into AMS 1," he told the cameras.

Ben, who has a BA(Hons) degree in Economics & Business, has previously claimed that "making money is better than sex" and admits that Playboy boss Hugh Hefner is his most admired business figure.

The Apprentice continues next Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.