Estate agents more trusted than politicians

Estate agents are now more trusted than ministers by the public to tell the truth. "Lies" over Iraq could be largely to blame.

The only group who carry less trust with the public than ministers are tabloid journalists but they have seen their rating rise during the past two years from 7 per cent to 9 per cent, while trust in ministers fell one point to 23 - one less than estate agents.

MPs overall have more trust than ministers with 29 per cent, up from 27 per cent. At the top of the trust league - unchanged since 2004 - are GPs (93 per cent), head teachers (84 per cent) and judges (81 per cent), and local police officers (77 per cent).