22 January 2008
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed that it has overpaid
the pensions of almost 100 Armed Forces veterans, some of them for
decades. The £1.7m bill for this clerical error may have to
be picked up by the taxpayer, as the MoD is reluctant to ask the
veterans to repay the cash.
An MoD spokesman said: "The MoD is bound by Government
accounting rules to correct any errors in payment, but has not
requested any money to be reimbursed by the individuals concerned.
Instead a submission is being made by the MoD to the Treasury to
write off the overpayments on their behalf."
