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The PM today proposed a cap on the amount the elderly will pay for care costs – which was not mentioned in the Tory manifesto. Under-pressure Mrs May was forced to make the climbdown after growing anger over the plans, which were outlined just four days ago. But she refused to reveal what the possible cap could be, and became visibly angry when journalists suggested she was U-turning.

You will never have to go below £100,000 of your savings Theresa May

Speaking in Wales, Mrs May insisted the Conservative Party was "proposing the right funding model for social care". She added: "We will make sure nobody has to sell their family home to pay for care. "We will make sure there's an absolute limit on what people need to pay. "And you will never have to go below £100,000 of your savings, so you will always have something to pass on to your family."

GETTY Theresa May has performed a dramatic U-turn on her social care policy

Snap election 2017: The pictures politicians may not want you to see Sat, May 27, 2017 Protests, fights and daleks, it all happened when the politicians hit the campaign trail for the snap election Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 48 A UK Independence Party supporter (L) scuffles with a pro-europe supporter ahead of a visit by UKIP leader Paul Nuttall to Hartlepool

The PM also accused Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn of issuing "fake claims and scare-mongering" over the policy. She said: "This manifesto provides a better way. With it I'm leading Britain, while Mr Corbyn is simply scaremongering among the elderly and the vulnerable." And she said Mr Corbyn was not willing to be "honest" with voters about the "challenges" faced by social care.

PA May accused Jeremy Corbyn of issuing 'fake claims' over the policy

But she insisted she was not U-turning, and was instead simply clarifiying her policy. She said: "We have not changed the principles of the policy that we set out in our manifesto. Those policies remain exactly the same. "There will be aspects of how this operates that we will consult on throughout the Green Paper, which were we clear on."

PA The PM repeatedly insisted she was not performing a U-turn

Cabinet ministers were forced to defend the policy this weekend despite widespread anger from older voters. Damian Green, the Work and Pensions Secretary, insisted the Tories would not "look again" at plans to fund social care. And Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the policy was "necessary" in an ageing population.

GETTY Labour leader Corbyn said the climbdown was 'extremely welcome'

Mr Corbyn responded to Mrs May's press conference today by calling the U-turn "extremely welcome". Branding the policy "very dangerous and ill-thought", he said: "I want this country to face up to its responsibilities to those who need care." The left-winger added: "We will refund social care, putting emergency money into it now so those million people waiting for social care don't wait."

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron attacked the Prime Minister, saying: "May's manifesto meltdown changes nothing. "As Theresa May has made clear herself, nothing has changed and her heartless dementia tax remains in place. "This is a cold and calculated attempt to pull the wool over people's eyes. Theresa May still wants to take older people's homes to fund social care. "Families deserve to know exactly how much of their homes would be up for grabs now, not after the election."

Theresa May's political career in pictures Tue, April 18, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to 'build a greater Britain' Play slideshow EPA 1 of 116 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in the capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 05 April 2017. May is visiting Saudi Arabia as part of her Middle East trip to boost diplomatic ties in the region