Poll: Do you believe Labour fully supports business?

The Labour frontbencher made the remarks after a week of backlash from business leaders in response to Ed Miliband's dismissal of Boots chief executive Stefano Pessina's warning of a potential "catastrophe" for the country if Labour wins in May.

The comment prompted the Labour leader to call Mr Pessina a Monaco-based tax avoider whose advice would not be welcomed by voters, which in turn led to accusations the party is anti-business.

But yesterday Mr Hunt said Labour was on the side of Britain's business men and women.

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1, he said: "I'm enormously enthusiastic about business men and women making money, about delivering shareholder return, about making profit not least because that will help to support the Sure Start children's centres and the schools.

"We have heard from some business people. We have got five million great businesses working really hard across Great Britain, making money as I say and Labour is on their side.

"What is the problem our economy faces? It is a productivity challenge and that means the state has to play its role alongside business.

"What is the challenge for our business as well? It is markets. Only the Labour Party is committed to ensuring we have got a successful UK working in Europe delivering those markets for modern British business.

"So we are a furiously, passionately, aggressively pro-business party."