The ringleader of an organised crime gang, with 48 convictions to his name, managed to secure £50,000 from the UK’s coronavirus bounceback loans scheme (BBLS). It was the second such case in a matter of weeks to come before an incredulous Manchester judge, who two weeks ago ordered an official explanation as to how a man with such a long criminal record could obtain money from the BBLS without even the most cursory of checks.
Lord Theodore Agnew had the answer. The minister responsible for counter-fraud in the Treasury and Cabinet Office resigned last week, citing the government’s “egregious” failure to tackle fraud. The “cack-handed implementation and catastrophic follow-through” of the BBLS was likely to be costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds a month, he wrote in the Financial Times. Such eye-watering amounts erode the trust of taxpayers in the competence of a government whose reputation is already tarnished.
The BBLS, launched in May 2020, was intended as much-needed life-support for small businesses during lockdown. It guaranteed bank loans of up to £50,000. Paperwork was minimal; applications were self-certified and there were no credit checks. This was by design: earlier government efforts to support businesses were criticised for being too cumbersome, when time was of the essence. Unsurprisingly, the scheme proved wildly popular. A quarter of all UK businesses applied for the loans. In total, £47bn has been extended under the…
