Britain's tax authority is examining its decision to remove around 23,500 claimants from child benefit in an anti-fraud initiative that utilised travel data to establish whether they had departed the country permanently, it is understood. HM Revenue and Customs has issued an apology "to those whose payments have been suspended incorrectly".

It said immediate measures have been implemented to revise the process following concerns raised about the action. Through a pilot programme designed to combat fraud and error within the system, the tax authority announced in August that £17 million in improper payments was prevented over 12 months.

However, officials have subsequently begun examining cases using PAYE data to verify how many genuine claimants have had their benefit halted following al

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