The government’s failure to recover a billion pound Covid fraud beggars belief

Criminals have stolen £1.1bn – yes, billion – intended to prop up businesses during the pandemic. It’s an astonishing amount, but not nearly as amazing as the government’s lack of interest in getting it back, writes James Moore

(PA)

According to a former health minister, Boris Johnson’s government failed to get to grips with Covid because of an “ostrich, head-in-the-sand mentality” that gripped Downing Street. Apparently, according to Lord Bethell, Johnson was too worried about Brexit to take the arrival of a world-altering pandemic seriously.

The start of the pandemic may feel like a long time ago – but the head in the sand description remains apt when it comes to Covid, notably the huge sums of money lost to fraudsters through business support initiatives.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has today issued a report into the fraudulant claims of Covid business funds. And the numbers are dizzying.