A newly uncovered secret dossier has revealed that the UK Government handed over £28 billion of taxpayer money to terrorists, hostile states, and organised crime groups between 2015 and 2021. The report, compiled by the Cabinet Office, was reportedly buried by the previous Conservative administration to avoid political embarrassment.
Details of the Dossier
The document, obtained by The Telegraph, details billions of pounds flowing to organised crime networks, with millions specifically directed to Russia and the Islamic State. Among the startling revelations were Coronavirus loans that ended up in the hands of Islamic terrorists and grants awarded to companies with ties to the Russian state. Taxpayer cash also allegedly supported anti-Western extremists and human traffickers who were fraudulently claiming disability allowances and housing benefits.
Expert Reactions
Rebecca Harding, from the Centre for Economic Security, described the dossier as highlighting a growing threat of economic warfare. She stated, "One of the problems is we have assumed that everybody wants the same thing as us. What we haven't realised is, when it comes to other countries ... [some] want to project their economic power in a way that undermines our economic power."
Professor Nicholas Ryder, a former adviser to the Home Affairs Select Committee, called the findings "staggering" and emphasised that "the link between fraud and terrorist financing is very clear."
Government Response and Context
The report was commissioned in 2023 after widespread fraud emerged in pandemic rescue packages. However, the findings were so damaging that officials decided to suppress them. This follows an independent analysis in December 2025 showing taxpayers lost £10.9 billion to fraud and error during the pandemic response. Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner Tom Hayhoe's final report identified weak accountability, poor data quality, and inadequate contracting as primary causes.
The current Labour Government has implemented many of Hayhoe's proposals, including tougher sanctions and specialist fraud recovery teams. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said, "This Government is taking unprecedented action to tackle public sector fraud, having saved over £7.5bn of taxpayer money in the past year through aggressive fraud prevention and recovery. By using better data and hiring more expert investigators, we are now finding and stopping this fraud faster than ever before."
At the time the dossier was compiled, Britain had one of the highest aid budgets globally, with a commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on foreign aid. The Conservatives reduced this to 0.5% in 2021, but Labour has pledged to restore the 0.7% target.
