Victims of the tax blunder which will see 1.4 million people asked to pay cash back to the taxman may qualify for increased benefits to soften the blow.
Britain saw the largest rise in employment since records began in the three months to July as official figures today revealed 286,000 more people secured jobs.
Beleaguered government department HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is facing fresh anger as its helpline for tax credits renewals is jammed, with some benefit recipients unable to get through for two weeks.