David Cameron says that a Conservative proposal to increase the retirement age to 66 by 2016 is "sober, reasonable and realistic".

Speaking on the programme, he said that a previous agreement to raise the state pension age in 2026 was "not ambitious enough". And he added that an independent committee headed by a "strong independent figure" would examine the Tories' pension proposals.

Mr Cameron said that he was "desperate" to restore the link between state pensions and earnings and wanted to see a "proper glide path" to bring together the pensionable ages of men and women.

And he admitted that "there are not any popular ways to get public spending under control".