Pensioners angered by the soaring number of deaths from winter cold applauded Westminster calls to take greedy energy companies into public ownership yesterday.

Activists shot their hands up in unison in a packed Commons committee room when asked by National Pensioners Convention general secretary Dot Gibson to show if they wanted public ownership.

Pensioners came to Westminster from all over Britain to lobby their MPs, spurred on by the grim announcement that 31,000 people died from cold last winter.