In response to a question in the House of Commons, he said "the public have the right to expect that across the board of British universities, a BA, a BSc or an MA really means something".

But he added that the awarding of MAs was "essentially a matter for the university".

Mr Wicks' comments follow a call last week from the university standards' watchdog for an end to "unearned" degrees.

At presents, students graduating from Oxford and Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree can acquire a Master of Arts (MA) without undertaking any further academic work - they simply need to pay a small administration charge.

'Title not wholly deserved'

Obtaining the same qualification at other universities means a year's postgraduate work, with the likelihood of assessed work, dissertations and exams.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education wants to remove the anomaly of unearned degrees and to create a standardised framework for qualifications.

Mr Wicks was responding to comments made by Labour MP for Cambridge, Anne Campbell, who said she had an MA from Cambridge, but said: "Many of us feel that this title is not wholly deserved."