MPs and anti-corruption experts have warned that the UK government must not delay long-awaited measures to tackle economic crime, after a minister resigned over the government’s failure to prevent more than £4.3bn in fraudulent claims for Covid business loans.
Lord Agnew dramatically quit on Monday as a minister at the Treasury and Cabinet Office with oversight of fraud prevention, in another blow to the embattled prime minister. In a resignation letter to Boris Johnson, published on Tuesday, Agnew revealed that in a decision apparently taken last week, a key piece of legislation, the economic crime bill, had been rejected for consideration during the next parliamentary year. He described the decision as “foolish”.
