Passos Coelho, in a reply to newspaper Público, said he had never been notified of the debt in question, which reached the statute of limitations in 2009, adding that in 2012, when he learnt about the debt of €2,880 plus interest on arrears, he decided to pay it “voluntarily at any moment”.


"The prime minister earned €7,000 a month and ran away from a contribution of €100. He swindled the social security. This is the same prime minister who has been persecuting false free-lancers and called people who earn €500 and are unable to pay their contributions, which are now much higher than at that time, ‘snivelling’”, she added.


"The whole country has people who have seen brutal wage cuts and in extreme jeopardy of losing their jobs, being hounded by social security fines. This country needs an answer", she said.


The prime minister said that he was allowed to pay the fine at any time since it had lapsed and said he intended to do so after the legislature was over, but following the questions from Público, he decided "to pay the amount now" to "put an end to the groundless accusations about his social security situation".