Student loan crisis in England and Wales is a scam against graduates, MPs say

A protest outside the Palace of Westminster before a debate on student loans. One MP said the terms were ‘more comparable to something a loan shark would offer’. Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian

Angry backbench Labour MPs have attacked ministers over the student loans crisis, saying graduates are being “outrageously scammed”.

During a Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, several Labour MPs joined calls for an urgent shake-up of the “unfair” system, with one describing it as “an absolute dog’s dinner” and another likening the terms to something that a “loan shark” would offer.