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The Government has warned of a crackdown on expats who are illegally fleecing the UK for benefits, as it struggles to lessen the country's debt burden.

During a visit to a Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) team in Madrid yesterday, the work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said that the Government was determined to clamp down on the huge number of benefit cheats who live aboad.

Figures show that expat benefit fraud cost around 43 million last year, with the popular destination of Spain being the main hotspot for such activity.

This money should be going to the people who need it most and not lining the pockets of criminals sunning themselves overseas, said Mr Duncan Smith.

The vast majority of British people overseas are law-abiding, but fraudulently claiming benefits while living abroad is a crime and we are committed to putting a stop to it.

Some benefits, such as child benefit and the state pension, can be legitimately claimed abroad, but many more, including income support, are not considered exportable.

Common benefit scams perpetrated by expats include not declaring that they have moved abroad so that they can continue to pick up certain benefits, hiding assets abroad such as property or savings, or claiming unemployment or sickness benefits while working overseas.

Mr Duncan Smith encouraged law-abiding Britons in Spain, where income support and pension credit claims are most commonly investigated for fraud, to contact the DWP using a special hotline if they suspected someone they knew was committing benefit fraud.

The Spanish hotline is believed to have received over 750 tip-offs since it was set up in 2008, and has led to a similar scheme being established in neighbouring Portugal.

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£43 million given to expat benefit fraudsters