The tablets are arriving on shelves in John Lewis, Argos, Asda, Dixons, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Blackwell's and Foyles and they are also available to purchase through www.nook.co.uk.
Conservative peer Lord Blackwell, who was a political adviser to former Prime Minister John Major, said that "the primary reason for our current deficit" was a growth in public spending from 40% of GDP to closer to 50% over the last decade.