Tue, 16 Dec 2025

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 Sunak defends Covid loan scheme over excessive fraud claims

Critics say Bounce Back Loans were vulnerable to fraud, but Sunak cited need for speedy rollout

* He acknowledged that there were "specific vulnerabilities to fraud and error" in the scheme, but said he was aware of the risks when launching it.
* Delays in introducing more controls would have put hundreds of thousands of businesses at risk, Sunak claimed.
* He stated that around £1.9bn has been flagged as fraudulent, with estimated total fraud and error ranging from £2.8bn to potentially higher due to undetected types.
* Sunak said he made the judgment call that the need for speed outweighed the risks of fraud, despite knowing the potential issues.
* He argued that 40% of BBLs were issued in the first four weeks, and a month's delay would have increased the risk of early applicants going bust.
* Sunak claimed that a 4% fraud rate was comparable to other large government schemes such as universal credit or housing benefit.
* He stated that improvements to data about companies and other measures could minimize the trade-off between launching quickly and minimizing fraud in future similar schemes.
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