Iain Duncan Smith claims pensioners are paying back benefits

Pensioners are already paying back benefits they do not need, Iain Duncan Smith has claimed.

The Work and Pensions Secretary defended his remarks over the weekend when he said he would “encourage” people to forego perks such as free TV licences and winter fuel payments.

Coalition ministers traded blows over the comments on Sunday but yesterday Mr Duncan Smith described himself as “relaxed”.

He said: “It was in answer to a question which was ‘what if they don’t need it or don’t want it?’

“My answer is if they don’t want it or don’t need it there has always been on the website a helpline.

“If they want to go and ring that and make arrangements to pay back we have already been taking money from people who want to do that anyway. We did that on the basis of people who asked us to do that.”

On Sunday Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg responded by attacking the Tories for blocking means-testing of the benefits.

And Mr Duncan Smith’s Conservative Cabinet colleague Ken Clarke said he did not believe it was even possible to return money to the Government.

However, the work and pensions secretary said that his comments had been “twisted”.