TERROR suspects under house arrest are claiming up to £60.50 a week in ­Jobseeker’s Allowance.

In the latest example of ­soft-touch Britain, 22 out of 23 extremists who applied for the state benefit received it.

Yet none of them is available for work. Severe restrictions are placed on their ­movement because they are deemed a risk to national security.

The taxpayer-funded handouts last night sparked outrage among politicians and campaign groups who said it was yet another reminder of why extremists hellbent on ­destroying Western civilisation make a beeline for Britain.

Tory MP Patrick Mercer, a former Army officer and chairman of the Commons counter-terrorism subcommittee, said: “Surely this is nonsense. If they are under control orders they will not be seeking jobs.

“All we are doing is pouring more taxpayers’ money into a ­bottomless pit. In times of economic crisis, this will infuriate hard-pressed people.”

Control orders are only given to suspects regarded by MI5 to be so dangerous that they are a risk to the nation’s security. Some are under a curfew for up to 13 hours a day.

The Home Office admits all but one of 23 suspects who claimed the benefit were successful. In a case that calls into question whether Government departments talk to each other, the Department for Work and Pensions says that people can only receive Jobseeker’s Allowance if they show they are “capable of working, available for work and actively seeking work”.

Suspects’ ­families often also get financial help from charities such as Helping Households Under Great Stress, an Islamic group supporting families affected by terror arrests.