Ministers ‘cheated South Yorkshire out of EU funds’

Mr Healey accused the coalition of wilfully siphoning off half of the EU funding intended for his Sheffield constituency and South Yorkshire.

Two weeks ago, after a group of local authorities challenged the move on the basis that they allegedly gave rise to an unfair allocation and breached the EU law principles of equality and proportionality, the High Court ruled against the Government.

Mr Healey told the Commons that newly published evidence revealed the extent of the Government’s “cheating”.

He said during an adjournment debate on the row: “Documents disclosed for the first time to the Court show just how far ministers are cheating South Yorkshire and Merseyside.

“They show that the Government has calculated that the European Commission’s intended allocation for South Yorkshire would be 236 million euros (£194m) - 58 million (£48m) more than Ministers planned. They show that Merseyside’s intended allocation from the European Union to be 380 million euros (£313m) - 160 million (£132m) more than ministers proposed.”