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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Helen Pidd

Carer convicted over benefit error worth 30p a week fights to clear his name

George Henderson
George Henderson: ‘Why did it take six years to find that I ticked the box incorrectly?’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

A carer who says he was “dragged through the courts” and had to sell his home to pay back almost £20,000 in benefit overpayments is fighting to clear his name after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) acknowledged he made an innocent mistake.

George Henderson, 64, said he made a gain of just 30p a week while claiming carer’s allowance for his son John, who has learning difficulties and is addicted to heroin. He now costs the Treasury £1,000 a month more in benefits, having become homeless and too unwell to work.

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