We'll Chase Down Every Fraudster Vows Chancellor

RISHI Sunak has insisted a taskforce is “going after” everyone suspected of making bogus Covid cash claims.

- Sam Lister

The Chancellor denied billions of fraudulent claims had been written off and said there had been 13 arrests over applications for business bounce-back funds.

Labour has accused the Treasury of failing to protect taxpayers’ cash.

The row follows last week’s resignation of Treasury minister Lord Agnew over the Government’s “woeful” record on clawing back wrongly paid emergency funding.

Speaking before a Commons debate secured by Labour, Mr Sunak said: “Nothing has been written off in that regard.

“We are going after each and every person who we suspect of defrauding the taxpayer.”

He added: “The original estimate of fraud, and it was an estimate independently provided of £4.9billion, has actually already been revised down by a third since it was first published, thanks to the actions that we are taking.”

Mr Sunak said the Government spent £100million last March to create a 1,200-strong taxpayer protection taskforce to recover bogus claims – and give Companies House powers to pursue rogue directors.