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The Tories appear to have confessed they have no concrete evidence to prove 'benefit tourism' exists.

The remarks were slipped out quietly in a written question from the House of Lords answered over the Christmas break.

David Cameron has vowed a crackdown on benefit tourism by demanding a four-year welfare ban on EU migrants in his renegotiation plans.

Yet when his welfare reform minister was asked to back up the phenomenon, the answer - delivered after three weeks - was accused of coming up short.

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Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock requested "all factual evidence" held by the Department for Work and Pensions to show Britain's benefits system lures migrants.

(Image: PA)

Lord Freud replied only that "between 37% and 45%" of recent EU migrants were in households supported by the benefits system.

The figures, from 2013, show two-thirds of those households were working, claiming allowances like tax credits and child benefit.

Crucially, say campaigners, there was no evidence to show benefits were a direct reason for people coming to Britain.

There was also no comparison between migrants and Brits to show who claims benefits more.

Separate government figures show Britain has around 9million benefit claimants in total, and another 9million pensioners - with 27million households in total across the country.

The answer lay buried on Parliament's website until it was uncovered by expert Jonathan Portes, a Senior Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

He told Mirror Online even the 37% to 45% figure was "very dubious".

He added: "This answer doesn't show any connection at all between people coming here and wanting to claim benefits.

"If they wanted evidence of benefit tourism they could commission a study - the government knows that perfectly well.

"I know lots of people in Whitehall and there's no senior policymaker in Whitehall that thinks benefit tourism is a big problem, or that changing the rules will stop people coming to Britain.

"I think the government know that and that's why they're trying to blow smoke."

Lord Freud wrote: "The benefits system is one of a range of factors attracting migrants to Britain.

"Net migration to the UK stood at 336,000 in the year to June 2015 according to the November 2015 Migration Statistics Quarterly Report from the Office for National Statistics, and EU nationals are a significant contributor to recent increases.

"The Government has already introduced tough new measures to ensure that EU jobseekers will have no access to means-tested benefits whatsoever as Universal Credit is rolled out."