Last Updated: 05 Mar 2020

The Johnson family received child benefits for going on 20 years, BoJo writes in The Telegraph, which amounts to exactly £47,547.40 in total.

'I can’t pretend that without this dosh they [the kids] would have been deprived of bootees or SMA milk powder or scented nappy bags,' he says. 'Like many other families we have been able to use this astonishing state largesse - the thick end of fifty grand - on all sorts of discretionary spending.

'We’re looking at 10 half-decent ski holidays here, or about five luxury safaris. We could have laid down a cellarful of Chateau Lafite, or picked up an Old Master drawing, or a share of a lovely little place in Spain...'