Britain on the Fiddle

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Thu, 16/03/2017 - 22:41

This BBC programme tracks a number of people accused of benefit fraud. Some successfully applied for disability benefits, claiming they were house-bound yet were filmed enjoying the local golf course; others had multiple aliases and addresses enabling them to claim extra housing benefit. One such woman over-claimed £250,000, buying designer handbags by the dozen and enjoying exotic holidays.

Although we should recognise that the majority of claimants are genuine and deserving, those that claim fraudulently are particularly deserving of opprobrium. Their victims are the decent, hardworking folk who get out of bed each morning in order to feed both their families and the exchequer. Their victims are also those genuine claimants who, having aired this series, are now looked upon with suspicion.

'Thou shalt not steal'.