It appears that the identities of staff from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) possibly as many as 1,500, according to reports – had been stolen and used to make fraudulent claims at the tax credits e-portal.
DWP and HMRC are carrying out an in-depth investigation into how this happened. They are also working quickly to identify the records concerned and to ensure they are corrected. They say they will ensure that no staff are disadvantaged as a result of it.
HMRC is setting up a dedicated helpline for any DWP staff who think they may have been affected.
Meanwhile, tax credit claims can still be made by post, telephone or in person.
Liberal Democrat MP David Laws called for an explanation.
"This complicated and chaotic system is wide open to fraud," said the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. "Ministers have known for some time that organised criminals were using the internet to defraud the system,” he said.
He called on ministers to explain why they have taken so long to deal with the problem and why such drastic action as shutting down the service is necessary. “After all, many perfectly honest families will be applying via the internet and will be forced to join the massive queue of people hoping to speak to an adviser on the tax credit help line," he said.
