CRIMINAL WASTE
Losses from Covid fraud and error could pay police wages
CASH lost to fraud and error from Rishi Sunak’s Covid schemes could pay the salary of every police officer, it can be revealed.
The PM is accused of letting criminals grab taxpayers’ money in his time as Chancellor.
Figures show an estimated £6.7billion of government help for businesses and individuals was actually fraudulent or a mistake.
There are around 164,000 police officers with a total salary bill of about £6.5billion.
Labour’s Rachel Reeves said the fraud bill was a “badge of shame” for Mr Sunak. She called on him to “face up to his mistakes”.
The figures compiled by the House of Commons library show £3.5billion of the cash spent on the furlough scheme is believed to have been fraud or error.
The amount lost from a scheme for self-employed workers was £1billion while £1.1billion was wrongly given in bounceback loans to small businesses.
An estimated £1billion was also lost in fraud and error from other business grant schemes.
Incredibly, it is believed 8.5% of the total spent on Mr Sunak’s infamous Eat
Out To Help Out scheme fell into the hands of fraudsters. It allowed restaurants and cafes to offer customers half-price food and drink, but there were very few checks, allowing bogus orders.
Only around £770million of the total bill for fraud and error is thought to have been recovered.
Labour wants the National Crime Agency to investigate.
Shadow Chancellor Miss Reeves said the massive fraud bill was unacceptable at a time when the public is clobbered with record high taxes. She said: “People work hard for their wages, and they expect the Government to treat that money as if it was their own.
“It’s a badge of shame for this Prime Minister that he left the till open for fraudsters, gangs and worse, while abandoning the most cursory of checks.”
A Government spokesman said: “Our £400bn Covid support schemes were implemented at unprecedented speed and protected millions of jobs. The UK now has the lowest unemployment rate on record.
“We are not writing off any fraud, and have blocked or recovered billions in fraudulent activity.”
A minister said there “isn’t the money” to give nurses, teachers and rail staff a proper pay rise. Transport Secretary Mark Harper added: “We want to try and give all the workers in the public sector pay rises, but they can’t be inflation-busting pay rises.”
VOICE OF THE MIRROR: PAGE 8