Widower Bob Smith, 77, is one of 10 million pensioners who will lose £300 this winter because he does not qualify for pension credit. Instead, he uses his local warm bank. “My wife died about four years ago,” he says. “It’s warm here.”

The prime minister has insisted it "makes sense" to cut winter fuel payments to millions of pensioners, as he was pressed on the change in a series of BBC local radio interviews in Downing Street. Sir Keir Starmer was repeatedly asked why he was "picking a fight" with pensioners,

Chancellor Rachel Reeves limited access to the benefit, worth up to £300, in a cost-saving measure, as she sought to repair the nation’s finances.

The new Labour Party government leader has addressed the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) shaking up the £300 payouts.