Fraud unit finally set to hunt down lost millions

A FRAUD-BUSTING unit weakened by Rishi Sunak’s Treasury finally gets going today with its full powers restored.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority was due to start work last month to help claw back millions of pounds’ worth of taxpayers’ cash that had been wrongly siphoned off, including Covid support loans. At the last minute its remit was watered down by Treasury officials. But since Mr Sunak quit as chancellor, the Cabinet Office has won a behind-the-scenes tussle over the unit’s powers – and it now launches today with its intended mandate back in place.

The unit will cost £11million to run in its first year but has a target of recovering £180million worth of fraud. ‘That’s a very good return on spending,’ said efficiency minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Asked why the Treasury had tried to weaken the unit’s powers, he said he thought it was ‘just embarrassed’ that so much money was lost to fraud at the height of the pandemic.

A Government source said: ‘Today is a victory for the British taxpayer.’