Overpayment of tax credits

Since their introduction in 2003, working tax credits and child tax credits have been overpaid by up to £6bn.

That is the discovery by the Public Accounts select committee of MPs.

And what is Gordon Brown saying about this?

Nothing. He is too busy on the campaign trail. The man has no shame. A financial officer of a company who presided over an error of this magnitude would be held to account, and rightly so. Not so in politics. The man whose complicated regulations have led to mistakes on such a grand scale - £6bn is no laughing matter - is instead being allowed a free run at the leadership of his party, and consequently, of the country.

We have seen Labour politicians lining up to praise him, declaring him to be the only candidate for the job of Prime Minister. If he is the best that their party can produce, then this country is in big trouble.

Back to the tax credits. Of the £6bn overpaid, around £500m has had to be written off, and there is not much hope of recovering another £1.4bn. But no matter, it is, after all, only taxpayers' money. If Gordon Brown wants some more money to plug the hole in his spending spree caused by this overpayment, he can simply put up taxes. That has always been his way, after all. Why on earth would anyone expect him to change now?