"I think it should be easy to check and that there is someone to check what happened", adding that he had been kept “permanently informed” about the situation.

Portuguese news magazine Visão has said there were cases of people who changed their taxa bode after last year’s wildfires so they could get support from the ‘Fundo Revita’ or other institutions such as Cáritas, SIC Esperança, Cruz Vermelha, La Caixa, Gulbenkian or charities.

The fire that broke out in June 2017 in Pedrógão Grande and then spread to neighbouring countries, killed 66 people and injured another 250, seven seriously, and destroyed about 500 houses, over half of which were people’s primary habitation and 50 companies.

The government set up revitalisation funds for the area with public and private donations of around €4.4 million in cash.

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into alleged irregularities in the reconstruction of some of the houses.