[Tony Blair] has the authority to intervene to correct the mistakes and miscalculations of this chancellor and he should do so

Tony Booth

Since 1980, pensions have risen in line with inflation, rather than reflecting the growth in people's pay, and this has seen them fall in relative value.

Mr Blair, who said the criticism was not the first time he had suffered "a little bit of grief from Tony along the way", argued that restoring the link would mean enormous costs to future generations.

At last year's Labour conference, Mr Booth criticised the "androids" who ran the party and backed class politics - something the prime minister has insisted is dead.

Dwindling value

Mr Booth, an actor best known for his part in Till Death Us Do Part, has given his support to the National Pensioners Convention, which is campaigning to restore the link.

If we re-link it to earnings and keep that for evermore, then 10, 15 or 20 years down the line we would find it was a real problem

Tony Blair

Mr Booth told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that if the link had not been broken, "the state pension for an individual would be �97.45 rather than the pathetic �67.50 it is now."

"There are now over 10.8 million pensioners in this country and 70% of them receive at least half their income from the state pension or other benefits.

"A government report says half a million pensioners live below the poverty line.

"The winter fuel allowance and free TV licence - for the over-75s - are welcome but this does not address the fundamental issue of the dwindling value of the state pension," he said.

Costs in the future

Mr Booth was asked what had happened when he raised the issue with his son-in-law.

"Tony says it's [chancellor] Gordon Brown's decision but I pointed out to the prime minister that he is first secretary of the Treasury and he has the authority to intervene to correct the mistakes and miscalculations of this chancellor and he should do so," he said.

'Not enough for pensioners in Brown's budget box'

Responding to the criticism, Mr Blair said: "If we were to re-link pensions to earnings... the cost for future generations would be enormous.

"What we have to do, and we are spending a lot more money on pensions, is to put it where it is needed most. That is the poorest pensioners, some of whom don't get the basic state pension at all."

The prime minister said that another priority was to help pensioners whose savings put them above the benefit level.

"To try and treat all pensioners today as if they were on exactly the same income levels isn't the reality of the modern world," said Mr Blair, "We have to look for more sophisticated and better targeted ways of helping them."

Rejecting Mr Booth's criticism of the chancellor, he said that the extra �6.5bn put into pensions through special and targeted measures during this parliament was a result of Gordon Brown's management of the economy.

Mr Blair said that this sum was greater than would have gone into pensions if the earnings link had been restored.

He added: "If we re-link it to earnings and keep that for evermore, then 10, 15 or 20 years down the line we would find it was a real problem for the British finances.

"We have to try and work out the best way to use the money we can and get it to those people at the very sharpest end who need the help most."