Jeremy Hunt has promised to protect free TV licences for the over-75s as it was revealed almost all those to be stripped of the perk would refuse to pay.
Amid growing fury about the scandal, the Foreign Secretary says he will ensure elderly people don't have to pay the £154.50 if he beats Boris Johnson in the race to become Prime Minister.
A new poll released today says that 85 per cent of over-75s would rather go to court than pay it and more than one million people have signed two online petitions opposing the move.
PM candidate Jeremy Hunt (pictured at a hustings last night) says that he will not make over-75s cover the cost of the TV licence as pensioners threatened to refuse to pay
Protesters in London last week opposing the abolition of the free licence fee for over-75s
Scores of pensioners waved placards and chanted slogans outside London's New Broadcasting House
Silver Voices director Dennis Reed told the Mirror: 'Many will have to choose between heating, eating and what is often their main form of company, TV.'
Culture secretary Jeremy Wright claims back the £154.50 cost of the TV licence
Jeremy Hunt last night pledged to 'honour' his commitment for the over-75s if he comes out on top of the Tory leadership contest.
'I don't mind the BBC having responsibility for this, I just think we made a manifesto commitment and we don't want to start breaking it,' he told the Daily Express.
It comes after the BBC sparked outrage by saying it can no longer afford to hand out the free package.
A poll today revealed that 85 per cent of senior citizens would refuse to pay for their TV licence.
Hunt was Culture Secretary when the government stopped funding the free licence, but claims he handed the broadcaster 'enough money' to keep them going, the Daily Express reports.
Hunt's announcement comes after it was revealed that just five people were jailed for non-payments last year, compared with 132 over the past five years.
More than 320 MPs received £154.50 for a TV licence for their second home or constituency, expenses figures show.
The BBC announced that it was having to scrap free licences for the over-75s after the government asked the corporation to start funding the concession next year
Since 2010 the bill has reached £323,104, with two thirds of it going to current MPs, according to the figures published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).
Millions of over-75s who are exempt from paying a television licence fee will see the perk end next year.
Only the poorest pensioners — those who claim pension credit — will be allowed to continue to watch the public service broadcaster's television channels for free.
Currently, an estimated 4.6 million households do not have to pay the £154.50 annual
