LONDON — A U.K. minister dramatically resigned on Monday over the government’s handling of fraud in an emergency COVID-19 business loan scheme.
Theodore Agnew, who was minister for efficiency and transformation, quit on the spot in the House of Lords, telling lawmakers that counter-fraud measures for the Bounce Back Loan scheme had been “nothing less than desperately inadequate.”
The scheme saw more than £47 billion given to small businesses in a bid to stave off collapses during the pandemic. But government watchdog the National Audit Office estimated that more than £4 billion of that total could have been fraudulently claimed, and said the business department had “prioritized payment speed over almost all other aspects of value for money.”
Announcing his exit Monday, Agnew said the U.K.’s Treasury appeared to have “no knowledge or little interest in the consequences of fraud to our economy or society.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We are grateful to Lord Agnew for his significant contribution he has made to government.”
His resignation comes as Boris Johnson faces pressure from many of his own MPs over a raft of allegations that rule-breaking parties were held in No. 10 Downing Street during the coronavirus pandemic.
Agnew, who was applauded in the House of Lords as he quit, said his resignation was “not an attack on the prime minister” or related to that scandal. He said he was sorry for the inconvenience his exit would cause.
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