I’m Britain’s Welfare Queen, I bought a horse with taxpayers’ money & used benefits to bag a boob job & designer vagina

A BOOB job, a decorator vagina and . . . a horse.

No, it’s not the commencement of a atrocious joke, it’s the database of ‘luxuries’ mum-of-eight Marie Buchan has treated herself to implicit the past decade, contempt spending astir of her big beingness connected benefits.

Dubbed The Welfare Queen, Marie, 42, has been successful the strategy for 23 years and has received astir £500,000 successful authorities handouts.

‘Scrounger’, ‘benefits scum’ and ‘dosser’ are insults she has go utilized to hearing.

But successful comments guaranteed to marque hard-working Brits’ humor boil, the defiant mum says surviving disconnected the authorities has allowed her a beingness of astir jaw-dropping extravagance.

“Being connected benefits has ne'er held maine backmost from doing anything,” says Marie. “I person had a batch of luxuries.”

The azygous mum, who lives successful a four-bed location successful Selly Oak, Birmingham, is 1 of millions caught up successful Britain’s increasing worklessness crisis.

More than 20 per cent of the moving property population, astir 9.4 cardinal people, are presently jobless according to the Office for National Statistics.

Around 2.8 cardinal of those are signed disconnected with semipermanent sickness and, according to information released past week by The Institute for Fiscal Studies, 1 successful 10 working-age radical is present receiving incapacity handouts.

Yesterday, PM Sir Keir Starmer said Labour would “do everything we tin to tackle worklessness”, including clamping down connected payment fraudsters.

While there’s nary uncertainty galore connected benefits conflict to marque ends meet, for Marie surviving disconnected the authorities hasn’t meant going without.

In 2018 she caused wide outrage aft travelling to Turkey to get a £1,500 boob job, going from a 34A cupful to a 34D.

Public fury

While she insists she paid for the attraction with money raised from car footwear sales, it’s apt that the goods she sold would person been bought utilizing payer currency successful the archetypal place.

The pursuing year, she deed the headlines again erstwhile it was revealed she jetted overseas for laser attraction to execute a ‘designer vagina’ — again insisting she had paid for it with her car footwear loot.

“I did alert overseas to get the surgery, but it’s thing I’ve travel to regret,” she confesses.

“It was each a precise large mistake and it’s embarrassing for my kids.”

Marie triggered nationalist fury yet again erstwhile she decided to bargain a equine with her benefits.

“I conscionable wanted to bargain myself thing nice and I had been redeeming my money. It had ever been my imagination to ain one,” she admits.

“I paid £600 upfront for the equine and past had to wage an further £100 a period to support him astatine the yard. Food was astir £25 a month.”

Looking back, Marie says she tin recognize wherefore radical were outraged. “It was a large mistake. I was rubbing it successful people’s faces and I was showing disconnected and I truly regret that,” she says.

“He’s present gone due to the fact that I couldn’t spend to support him. Maybe if I spell backmost to enactment I could bargain different one.”

Despite her predominant Government-funded splurges, Marie hasn’t ever led specified a charmed life.

“Growing up, my parents weren’t wealthy. My dada was a model cleaner and my mum’s disabled, truthful she got disability benefits,” she says.

“We were a large household – my nan had 14 children. We didn’t person a lot, but we got by.”

At the property of 19, Marie welcomed her eldest girl Tia, and archetypal entered the payment system.

“I was successful and retired of enactment astatine the clip arsenic a carer. I’d travel disconnected benefits, person different kid beryllium backmost connected benefits,” she says.

“It was a spot of a rollercoaster, truthful successful the extremity I made the determination to enactment connected benefits arsenic it gave maine the clip to bring up my children.”

Many hard-working parents marque the heartbreaking determination not to grow their brood owed to currency constraints.

But for Marie, having much kids has ne'er been a concern.

“I’d ever wanted a large household successful the anticipation they would look aft maine erstwhile I was aged and grey,” she says.

“I ne'er thought astir the fiscal interaction of having 8 children due to the fact that it is conscionable truthful casual to get assistance from the government.

“They adjacent springiness you the signifier astatine the infirmary to assertion your child taxation credit. They marque it excessively easy.”

Marie famously became a target for disapproval erstwhile she appeared connected This Morning successful 2015 and claimed the projected £23,000 a twelvemonth payment headdress would permission her short.

“I was connected £26,000 astatine the time, meaning I lone had £500 a week to past on,” she says.

'Working Queen'

“We are a large family, truthful fractional of it would spell connected our nutrient store alone.

“We besides had the rent, the council tax and bills to interest about. The assembly lone paid £45 per week towards rent and £16 per week towards assembly tax.”

In her 23 years of claiming benefits, Marie’s yearly income has fluctuated betwixt £26,000 and £37,000.

And portion she admits she feels blameworthy for taking taxpayers’ money, she argues determination is nary inducement to work.

“I judge we are amended disconnected connected benefits, due to the fact that we get assistance successful each country of our lives, whether that’s the rent, bringing up the kids, oregon bills,” she says.

“You tin entree nutrient banks oregon substance vouchers. There’s a batch of assistance retired there.

"I’ve completed six assemblage courses connected mechanics and societal work, but I’m inactive sitting present claiming my benefits. I’ve done thing with them.

“It’s precise casual to beryllium successful the strategy for the remainder of your life.”

Marie’s eldest daughter, Tia, who welcomed her ain lad successful September 2022, has followed successful her mum’s footsteps and is claiming benefits.

“I interest astir the illustration I’ve acceptable for my kids,” says Marie, who is besides mum to Leah, 22, La Toya, 19, Joshua, 18, Alisha, 15, Mikayla, 13, Amelia, 11, and Olivia, ten.

“Living connected benefits for the remainder of your beingness is nary mode to live.”

With her eldest moving out, Marie’s benefits person been chopped and the mum insists that the luxuries she erstwhile bragged astir are a happening of the past.

She adds: “I had to spell to a nutrient slope a fewer weeks ago. We truly person been struggling rather a bit. With substance prices to origin in, I’ve had to spell backmost to universal credit, which gives maine conscionable £74 a week.”

Marie, who past worked successful 2017 arsenic a part-time carer, says that she is acceptable to measurement distant from the handouts that made her famous.

“I privation to marque thing of myself — not conscionable for myself, but for my household too,” she says.

“My purpose is to spell backmost to work. I don’t person a CV, but I person booked an assignment to get that sorted.

“I’d emotion to beryllium a Health Care Assistant. The authorities needs to propulsion radical similar maine and halt forgetting astir them and allowing them to lone assertion benefits.”

“My mum and dada are rather bittersweet that this is what has go of my life. But I judge I could crook things astir with the close assistance and guidance.

“I’m acceptable to beryllium the Working Queen alternatively than the Welfare Queen.”

• To ticker Marie’s afloat interview, sojourn YouTube.com/@fabulousmag time astatine 5pm oregon scan the QR codification to ticker much Life Stories.