Frail pensioners should receive free care, peers say today, as they warn that Winston Churchill’s “safety net” for a civilized society has been broken.

The major report, calling for an end to the “scandal” of a failing social care system, comes as Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, a key supporter of Boris Johnson, called for the NHS to fund such services.

A cross-party Lords committee today calls for radical changes and £15 billion extra funding to overhaul a system “riddled with unfairness”.

Its chairman - a former Tory Cabinet minister - said it was not fair that someone with dementia could spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on their care, while someone with cancer would receive it free on the NHS.

Lord Forsyth of Drumclean spoke out as council leaders urged the new Prime Minister to urgently publish a green paper on social care, which was promised two and a half years ago.

The Local Government Association said tackling the crisis could be put off no longer, with millions of elderly and disabled people struggling to cope.

Lord Forsyth said radical changes were needed to protect the elderly, and create a fair system.

He told The Telegraph: "To my mind it's an absolute test of a civilised country how you treat those who are most vulnerable.