Inquiry launched into HMRC anti-fraud scheme that wrongly cut child benefits

Of 23,794 families who had their child benefits suspended under the scheme, more than 17,000 so far have been found to be legitimate claims. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

The UK’s public spending watchdog has launched an investigation into a controversial government anti-fraud scheme that resulted in thousands of families being wrongly stripped of their child benefit payments.

The National Audit Office (NAO) will examine how HM Revenue and Customs designed and implemented a scheme that used flawed Home Office travel records to identify parents suspected of living abroad while still claiming child benefit.