Benefits and immigration are not only two of the most contentious and politically-charged areas of policy, they are also two issues which often suffer from inaccuracies when reported in the press. So when Full Fact happens upon a claim that touches on both, our ears naturally prick up.

Back in April we checked claims in the Express that “Harem Muslims” were costing the taxpayer £10 million. Up to 1,000 men in polygamous marriages, it was claimed, were using their multiple marriages to enlarge their benefit entitlement.

However on closer inspection it appeared that the whole issue of polygamous marriages was something of a red herring, to the extent that the Government and the House of Commons Library had both concluded that “there is no financial advantage to claiming [benefits] for those in polygamous marriages.”

Nevertheless, the supposed burden placed on the welfare bill by men with many wives again found its way into this morning's papers.

In an article by Baroness Flather for the Daily Mail, it was claimed that the Pakistan-born peer “reveals how some of her countrymen have as many children as possible by several wives so as to milk our welfare system.”

The Baroness writes:

“Under Islamic Sharia law, polygamy is permissible. So a man can return to Pakistan, take another bride and then, in a repetition of the process, bring her to England where they also have children together — obtaining yet more money from the state.

“Because such Islamic multiple-marriages are not recognised in Britain, the women are regarded by the welfare system as single mothers — and are therefore entitled to the full range of lone-parent payments.”

The only problem here is that, as Lord West told Parliament:

“The Immigration Rules prevent a man from bringing in a second or subsequent wife with him to the UK if another woman has already been admitted to the UK as his wife and that marriage has not been dissolved. All those who seek leave to enter the United Kingdom for the purpose of settling as a spouse of a person resident in the UK or a British citizen must have a visa in this category for entry.”

In other words, in order to be eligible for benefits, a second or subsequent spouse must have gained entry to the UK by means other than marriage, and would therefore have been eligible for welfare support whether or not she had been in a polygamous union.

Britain does in fact recognise polygamous marriages where both parties were resident in a country in which the practice is legal before they moved to Britain. However as Lord Hunt explained to Parliament in 2006, the nature of their relationship doesn't usually increase their entitlement:

“Income-related benefits can be paid for more than one wife in a polygamous marriage where British law recognises the marriage and where the general conditions of entitlement for those benefits are met. This would apply where the marriages were conducted in a country that recognises polygamy and in which the parties to each marriage were domiciled at the time of their marriage. The amount of benefit payable includes personal allowances for the male spouse and one partner at the appropriate couple rate. For each other partner, benefit is payable at the difference between the couple rate and the higher rate for a single person. In general, therefore, there is no financial advantage to claiming for those in polygamous marriages.”

So while polygamous families may well be claiming benefits in the UK (although it is worth noting here that the DWP has estimated that “few of [these] are claiming a state benefit”), it seems that the nature of their marriages has little to do with their entitlement.