Michael Howard has announced plans to stop thousands of pensioners having to sell their homes to pay for the cost of long-term care.

He said that if pensioners took out insurance covering the cost of three years in a care home, a Conservative government would pay for them to stay after that, regardless of wealth.

In a speech at a summit for older people, Mr Howard said: "The current system is unfair. It encourages people to run down their assets. It penalises people who have saved."