BOLTON South East MP Yasmin Qureshi has welcomed the Government's U-turn on the "stealth death tax".

The Labour member had spoken out against the Tories' plan to introduce an increase in probate fees — charges paid to the Government when someone dies and the executor of their estate gathers their assets to distribute to beneficiaries of a will.

It was due to rise from £155 or £215 to up to £20,000 for some estates in England and Wales in May.

But the Ministry of Justice confirmed there was not enough time for the legislation to go through Parliament because of the election.

Mrs Qureshi, a shadow justice minister, said: "Another day, another Tory reverse — they have now dropped their planned probate fee increases. I welcome this.

"I stood up for bereaved families, forcing the Conservatives to abandon their plans for a stealth death tax."

The MP spoke out against the proposed changes in Parliament. She said: "Grants of probate currently cost a flat fee of £155 when applied for by a solicitor and £215 when done by an individual.

"Under the new system, however, the costs will rise enormously. They will rise to £300 for an estate worth £50,000 and up to the enormous amount of £20,000 at the higher end.

"An estate worth £50,000 is not a large one. The fact that this Conservative Government thinks it is a reasonable threshold at which to start charging inflated fees shows once again how out of touch they are.

"We need probate fees that are clear and fair, and that do not treat grieving families as cash cows for the Government."

There is currently a flat fee of either £155 or £215 per application for probate, depending on whether or not the application is made through a solicitor.

This would have been replaced by a sliding fee scale linked to the value of the estate.

Estates worth more than £50,000 and up to £300,000 would have attracted fees of £300, rising to £20,000 for those valued at more than £2million.