The government is likely to scrap targets for the university admission of students from state schools and poorer families.

The Times says that ministers will review the "benchmarks" following hostility from elite universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

Charles Clarke, the education secretary, will today name the £100,000-a-year director of the new Office for Fair Access.

The director will approve tuition fee increases for universities that sign agreements to boost applications by students from state schools and working-class backgrounds.

The move comes amid top level criticism that the government is attempting "social engineering" in higher education.