GB News hosts Beverley Turner and Ben Leo paused their regular broadcast today to reveal that nearly 1.3 million migrants are claiming Universal Credit in the UK. Turner said to the channel’s viewers: “Breaking news as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed 1.3 million migrants are claiming Universal Credit.”

Leo added: “The latest Government stats show a near 50 per cent increase since 2022—just three years.” Turner interjected: “Hang on a minute – 50 per cent in three years? That’s astonishing. Just under 800,000 claims that is.” Non-EU nationals with indefinite leave make up around 200,000 claims, followed by just 120,000 refugees, Leo added.

As Turner was trying to get all the information around the update from producers as the breaking news was coming in, she said: “It is deeply embarrassing, not just for this government, frankly, but for the previous one as well.”

She said she would be watching X for reaction and predicted politicians like Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage would “jump on this one”.

She was correct, as Farage soon took to X to address his followers with the “breaking news,” telling them: “This is going to make you angry. For the first time, the Department of Work and Pensions have given us some figures that many have wanted for years. The result? There are 1.3 million migrants in Britain on Universal Credit.”

The DWP said it had published the figures “following a public commitment to investigate and develop breakdowns of the Universal Credit caseload by the immigration status of foreign nationals in receipt of Universal Credit”.

Universal Credit is a payment to help with living costs. It is available for people on low incomes or those who are unemployed or unable to work.

Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said of the statistics: “These are staggering figures and are clear proof that the Labour government has lost control of our welfare system.”

People can only access Universal Credit if they have an immigration status which provides recourse to public funds. However, those without recourse to public funds cannot claim most benefits, tax credits, or housing assistance that are paid by the state.

The findings confirmed that the total number of people on Universal Credit rose from 6.8 million in June 2024 to 7.9 million a year later.