European austerity programmes are a “ghastly experiment” that will lead to more citizens’ deaths, says a leading expert on health inequalities.

Michael Marmot spoke about the link between rising unemployment and higher mortality rates, including suicides.

He warned of the effects of government policies in countries such as Spain and Portugal that he said were being pursued at the behest of financial markets and central banks.

“If unemployment rises as a result of government policy that is an emergency,” he said. “European governments have been told they must screw their economies down so far that people are killing themselves.”

Marmot, who is director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, was the keynote speaker …