Don't Pay UK spokesperson responds to claims they're persuading people to break the law

Don't Pay UK has urged people to cancel their direct debits to energy companies this autumn if the government and the firms don't step in and lower the prices.

In the segment, host Adil Ray said: "They can't get away with not paying it at all, they'll end up accruing debt or they'll have court cases against them, surely?"

Jake responded: "We have a £10bn ndebt arrears in this country already. That number is going to grow, it's only going to grow.

"And the more of us that take part in this campaign, that log on to Don't Pay UK and pledge, the more of us that are together, the less likely it is that people can take action."

Presenter Charlotte Hawkins then chimed in to ask whether it was 'irresponsible to encourage people to not pay their bills', suggesting it was 'electricity theft' and could lead to households getting their power cut off or with damaged credit ratings.

But Jake argued: "I wouldn't say that anyone has a right to take as much money out of people's accounts as their rent and mortgage in energy.

"We're the only country in the developed world that is going through this at such an aggressive rate.

"Countries like France that have taken control of their energy companies aren't having these price increases. They're going up by 4 percent - we're going up by 80 percent in October alone."

Earlier on in the interview, the spokesperson said: "We can no longer tolerate the aggressive price gouging that we've seen from energy companies.

"The past 12 years, and particularly the last two years, we've been told time and time again 'tighten your belts, tighten your belts'. And it's gotten to a point where people cannot afford to pay."