Ministers received a Commons battering yesterday over widespread suffering caused by delays in payments under chaotic welfare programmes.

Work and Pensions Minister Mike Penning was forced to admit to a “completely unacceptable” backlog in work capability assessments by reviled contractor Atos.

Minutes later, he confessed to angry Labour MPs that assessments for personal independence payment (PIP) were taking “too long,” partly because of internal problems at the DWP, Atos and Capita.