MP Ian Duncan Smith (Letters, December 31), complains that the Government owes Britain's pensioners up to £1 billion in pensions and other benefits because they have not repaired the National Insurance computer.

This ridiculous whinge is clearly a novel Tory publicity stunt whereby their Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security rants to regional newspapers.

His concern for the welfare of pensioners sits ill with their shabby treatment through the 18 Tory years: the Thatcher fraud of breaking the pensions up-rating link with earnings is costing pensioners £8 billion a year.

And, under the guise of Care in the Community, the Tories closed tens of thousands of long-stay NHS beds and made their occupants pay for the care to which they were already entitled through life-long National Insurance contributions.

This betrayal now forces 40,000 pensioners a year to sell their homes to find the money.

Mr Duncan Smith's colleague, Nigel Evans, gets in on the act to wheedle the pensioner vote by banging on about them having to pay £100 for their TV licence (LET, December 19).

The Tory Ribble Valley MP should own up that his government's breach of pension up-rating contract is cheating each single pensioner of £1,000 a year.

These politicians' crocodile tears are odious hypocrisy, for no government has clobbered pensioners as hard as the Tories.

G E RAYNER, Whinney Lane, Langho.

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