THOUSANDS of ill Brits have been hit with major delays to their benefits, new figures reveal.
More than 90,000 people claiming Employment and Support Allowance were left with no cash for two weeks or more.
And some of those were penniless for at least three weeks, the Department for Work and Pensions admitted.
The figures were uncovered by campaigning MP Frank Field and first published by the Mirror.
Employment and Support Allowance is worth up to £110.75 a week for people who are too unwell or disabled to work.
Last year, 20 per cent of claims took more than ten working days to come through – a total of 90,100.
And 33,340 – 7 per cent – were more than three weeks later.
Mr Field, chair of the Commons' work and pensions committee, said: "The delayed payment of benefit has become a recruiting sergeant for food banks and money lenders.
"What these horrifying figures show is that this source of injustice is not just found in Universal Credit.
"Delays across the board are inflicting misery on hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need of help from the welfare state."
The DWP said: "We process claims as quickly as possible and the vast majority are cleared within 10 days.
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"When this takes longer it is often because we are working with claimants to get more information to ensure they get the correct support."
The department has been blasted for chaos in the Universal Credit system over recent months.
The Sun has launched a campaign to reform UC and ensure that claimants don't miss out on the money they're owed.
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