Daily Telegraph: Those 'too fat to work' cost taxpayer pounds 4.4m

By Laura Clout

TAXPAYERS have paid out pounds 4.4 million in benefits over the past year to people who say they are too fat to work, official figures show.

Almost 2,000 obese people were awarded incapacity benefit during the past 12 months, while billions of pounds more was handed out for complaints ranging from acne to leprosy.

A total of pounds 7.4 billion in incapacity benefit was shared between 2.7 million people. The full list of ailments, which was obtained using a Freedom of Information request, may fuel suspicion that people are being pushed into claiming benefits to lower the official unemployment statistics.

Stress appeared to keep 50,000 claimants off work, while 15,600 claimed for what is described as "malaise and fatigue''. Another 380 claimants were afflicted with haemorrhoids, and 50 collected about pounds 100,000 between them because of acne.

Matthew Elliott, the chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "Many incapacity claimants are clearly taking advantage of their GPs. There is a huge difference between not being able to work and not feeling like working.''