IAIN Duncan Smith has described a petition calling on him to live on £53 a week as a “complete” stunt and claims he knows what it is like to live on the breadline.

The Work and Pensions Secretary, who earns £1,581 per week after tax, said he could get by on £53 per week when challenged to do so by County Durham market trader David Bennett on BBC radio yesterday morning (Monday, April 1).

Mr Duncan Smith’s claims, which came in the wake of widely criticised changes to the welfare system, prompted more than 200,000 people to sign an online petition demanding proof.

Today (Tuesday, April 1), however, the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green dismissed the petition outright.

"This is a complete stunt which distracts attention from the welfare reforms which are much more important and which I have been working hard to get done,” said Mr Duncan Smith, a former army officer who married into a wealthy family.

"I have been unemployed twice in my life so I have already done this [lived on the equivalent of £53 a week].

"I know what it is like to live on the breadline."

Mr Duncan Smith’s appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme was part of a Government fightback in the face of mounting criticism of the welfare reforms, which include the so-called bedroom tax that will hit 660,000 social housing tenants.

However, the welfare provoked anger with his response to Mr Bennett – a father-of-two from Wear Valley who says cuts to his benefits will leave him destitute, despite the fact he works up to 70 hours per week.