Prime minister Gordon Brown has been accused of backtracking on his commitment to eradicating age discrimination by a leading elderly rights group.

Help the Aged’s director of policy and external relations says the government is struggling to meet its commitment to tackling the “rampant ageism” which he says remains “rife” in the UK.

The attack comes as new research shows eight out of ten adults wrongly assume age discrimination is already against the law.

A poll conducted by ICM for the charity shows over half think the government treats elderly people as second-class citizens, while 59 per cent say they believe the government tends to ignore older people.

“Time and again Help the Aged has provided the government with evidence of horrific age discrimination – prejudice that can sometimes mean the difference between life and death,” Mr McCann added.

“So far, Gordon Brown’s government seems happy to ignore it. If the government decides not to outlaw ageism it will not only be ignoring older people, it will be ignoring the electorate.”

The Equality Office said it was preparing a response to Help the Aged’s claims.