Author Martin Amis has condemned “humourless” and “literalist” English journalists over the reporting of comments he made about euthanasia and the elderly earlier this year.

The author was interviewed by the Sunday Times in January this year as he promoted his new book The Pregnant Widow and he said of the UK’s ageing population: “How is society going to support this silver tsunami?

“There’ll be a population of demented very old people, like an invasion of terrible immigrants, stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops. I can imagine a sort of civil war between the old and the young in 10 or 15 years’ time.