More than two thousand British expats are still claiming disability benefits while living in Europe. Brits soaking up the sun in holiday hotspots including Spain, Italy, France and Portugal can still apply for taxpayer-funded Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Some 2,244 people are currently claiming the benefit despite living abroad, according to statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The figure has surged by 86 per cent since before Covid, when 1,203 expats were receiving the benefit. The most common reason for PIP payments among European expats were musculoskeletal issues (1,001) followed by psychiatric disorders (414).Under current rules, someone living in a country within the European Economic Area or Switzerland may be able to claim PIP if they meet certain requirements.They can only claim for daily living costs, not the mobility component of the benefit, but this can still amount to between £76.70 and £114.60 per week.Shimeon Lee, policy analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'Taxpayers will be astonished that millions are being spent on disability benefits for people living abroad.'Remote checks risk turning the system into a soft touch, with too little scrutiny of whether claims remain valid.'Ministers must urgently review these payments and ensure support is going to those who genuinely need it.' Brits soaking up the sun in holiday hotspots including Spain, Italy , France and Portugal can still apply for taxpayer-funded Personal Independence Payment (PIP)Taxpayers may be shelling out as much as £10 million a year to fund expats' living costs.Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has called for the claims to be reviewed.'If you choose to live abroad, and work abroad, because PIP is not work-related, you could be earning a significant salary while getting this benefit,' he told The Sun. 'This was not as much of a problem as before Covid, but the number of cases have gone up significantly.'A DWP spokesman said: 'Only a very small number of PIP claimants are currently living abroad. 'We're fixing the broken system we inherited by creating a welfare state that works for disabled people and taxpayers and have launched the Timms Review to make sure PIP is fit and fair for the future.'Some 4 million people were claiming PIP across England and Wales by the end of April, latest figures show. This was a 2 per cent increase in the PIP caseload in England and Wales from the end of January this year.Of the 4 million PIP claimants, 3.3 million (83 per cent) were of working age and 680,000 (17 per cent) were of state pension age.