The Government must protect free TV licences for over-75s, according to a Harrow councillor.

Cllr Pamela Fitzpatrick, who is also Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Harrow East, said this is a vital service for elderly people across the country.

She argued that pensioners should not be left with an additional financial burden if licence fees were introduced or modified to exclude those aged 75 to 80.

It comes after the BBC consulted on whether it should carry on with the scheme once government funding ends in 2020.

Cllr Fitzpatrick said: “This will send a shiver down the spine of anyone in London who is over 75 or anyone who has older relatives.

“The prospect of older people having to cut back on heating or food in order to keep their TV should leave the Tories examining their consciences.

“Theresa May’s manifesto promised that TV licences for over-75s would be protected.

“If the Government had any compassion for these older people, they would step in and save their free TV licences.”

According to analysis by the London branch of the Labour Party, scrapping the scheme would cost over-75s in the capital more than £55 million.

If the concession was raised to those aged 80 and above, those in London who previously-benefited from the programme would lose out on more than £21 million.

These measures, according to charity Age UK, could push around 50,000 older people in Britain into relative poverty.

A spokesman for the BBC said it would “consider all responses” to the consultation and would make an announcement on free TV licences in June.

He explained: “We set out a range of options in our consultation – each with merits and consequences, and implications for the future of the BBC and for everyone, including older people.

“We invited a range of views to help the BBC make the best and fairest decision and the consultation is now closed.”