Jeremy Paxman Says Pensioners Are ‘Virtual Corpses On Verge Of Incontinence’

Jeremy Paxman has been accused of insulting millions of people after he branded pensioners “virtual corpses” riddled with “incontinence and idiocy.”

The former Newsnight presenter, 66, has become embroiled in a dispute with the readers of The Mature Times – a free newspaper aimed at the over-50s demographic – after he launched a scornful attack on the publication.

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The journalist and broadcaster, who is known for his forthright and abrasive demeanour, criticised the newspaper whilst also describing old age as a path to “incontinence, idiocy” and ill-health.

In a column for the Financial Times, Paxman wrote: “At the reception desk of a hotel to which I checked in this week was a pile of free copies of Mature Times, which calls itself ‘the voice of our generation.’ Oh God, I thought, the cheeky b*****s are including me. Back off.

“For this must be the most unfashionable publication in Britain. Who wants to be called ‘mature’, like an old cheese? We all know that ‘mature’ means on the verge of incontinence, idiocy and peevish valetudinarianism.

“They might as well have named it the ‘Surgical Stocking Sentinel’ or ‘Winceyette Weekly.’”

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After blasting the paper’s advertisements – featuring hearing aids, recliner chairs and stairlifts – he then added: “Why do people who run these dreary publications assume that, apart from a cruise somewhere in the company of other virtual corpses, this sort of stuff is all we want?”

Further into the controversial column, Paxman decided to dig an even deeper hole as he presented what he believed to be an “undeniable” case to restrict the elderly of their ability to vote in polls like the EU referendum, given that they “won’t live to enjoy or endure” the results.

Meanwhile Andrew Silk, the publisher of the Mature Times, hit back at the political presenter, claiming that he is turning from “Jeremy Paxman into Jeremy Clarkson – without the charisma.”

Issuing his furious rebuke, Silk wrote: “I suspect that with the high media profile enjoyed by Mr Paxman, comes a massive ego as well – but perhaps it’s time for that ego to contemplate a little.

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“I have to say Mr Paxman, that at the sprightly age of 66 you are indeed one of the 12 million people over 65 in this country – get over it!”

The publisher also asked Paxman to apologise after likening him to Clarkson, 56, adding: “Clarkson has made a living from being offensive. Paxman tries to be the intellectual one but he’s lacking the charisma of Clarkson.”

Mature Times is the largest free publication aimed at a senior audience in the UK with 200,000 copies published monthly and over 600,000 readers across the online and digital editions.