Lord Agnew, a Conservative minister in the House of Lords, has resigned in protest over the government's handling of fraudulent Covid business loans. He accused the Treasury of having 'little interest in the consequences of fraud to our society' and cited 'a combination of arrogance, indolence and ignorance' as freezing the government machine.
In his resignation speech, Lord Agnew criticised the government for making 'schoolboy errors' by granting loans to over 1,000 companies that were not trading when the pandemic struck. He stated that giving up his career might prompt others to address the issue. The Treasury has written off £4.3bn in Covid loans.
The Bounce Back Loan scheme, launched in April 2020, issued 1.5 million loans worth £47bn to small businesses. The National Audit Office estimated fraudulent loans at £4.9bn, or 11% of the total. Lord Agnew warned of a 'new dangerous phase' where banks may not rigorously seek repayment, knowing they can reclaim funds from taxpayers.
A No 10 spokesman expressed gratitude for Lord Agnew's contribution and highlighted that 150,000 ineligible claims have been blocked and £500m recovered last year. The British Business Bank defended its counter-fraud measures, stating key measures were in place from the start.
