Jeff used an urgent question in the House of Commons on Tuesday to challenge government minister John Whittingdale over the Tories’ role in scrapping free TV licenses for many over 75s.

After the exchange, Jeff said “In their 2017 election manifesto, the Conservatives promised to retain free TV licences for everyone over 75. But the government have passed on responsibility for funding free licences to the BBC while at the same time slashing their income.

“The Tories put the BBC in an impossible position and now have the gall to act shocked and disappointed that they are unable to cover the licence fee for all older pensioners. The Government shouldn’t be outsourcing its welfare policy to the BBC, it should be covering the cost of free TV licences for the over 75s itself.”