Conservative Treasury minister and Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnew has resigned from both of his posts with a scathing rebuke to his government colleagues over COVID business loan fraud. His dramatic exit from the chamber was an unusual occurrence in the normally sedate House of Lords, which rarely sees ministerial resignations.
Lord Agnew’s resignation stems from his dissatisfaction with how the Bounce Back Loan Scheme has been handled by government, the British Business Bank, and lenders – namely, the main high street banks. He called the government’s oversight of the scheme “desperately inadequate … and nothing less than woeful”.
The scheme was launched in May 2020 as part of the government’s package of support for businesses during the early days of the pandemic. Over an 11-month period, 1.5 million loans lent a total of £47 billion to (supposedly) eligible businesses. But after the close of the scheme in March 2021, it was disclosed that billions of pounds worth of loans might not be paid back.
