Suspected Covid fraudsters given final warning to pay up owed cash before key deadline

Suspected Covid fraudsters are being served a final warning before facing more severe penalties.

Under a government counter-fraud scheme those who wrongly claimed cash during the crisis have the chance to voluntarily return the money before the end of the year.

With the deadline approaching in December, Labour warns today: “Time is running out for people who owe money to the public purse." A spokesman added: "The voluntary repayment scheme ends in December – the message is clear, pay up now or face the Covid fraud hit squad.”

Labour said more people suspected of fraudulent claims will receive warning letters in the coming week. Counter-fraud commissioner Tom Hayhoe has previously warned those who wrongly claimed cash under pandemic support schemes and fail to meet the December deadline will be pursued with new powers.

Covid-era schemes in the voluntary repayment window include programmes such as furlough, bounce-back loans, support grants, and the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

According to the Treasury, over £10billion was lost during the pandemic to fraud, flawed contracts and waste under the Tories while £1.5billion has been recovered.

Earlier this year Mr Hayhoe reviewed £8.7billion of Covid PPE, including gowns, masks and visors, that then had to be written off the government's books. Department of Health accounts revealed in 2022 that £673 million worth of equipment was completely unusable and £750 million was wasted items that were not used before their expiry date.

It comes after the government won its fights against PPE Medpro - a company linked to Baroness Michelle Mone. The firm, which was tasked with supplying 25 million surgical gowns during the pandemic, was ordered to repay over £121million for breaching a PPE contract.

Reading a summary of her ruling last week, Mrs Justice Cockerill said the contract was a "complex document" but found that PPE Medpro "has breached the contract".

She continued that the DHSC was "entitled to the price of the gowns as damages" as "the gowns could not be used as sterile gowns".

The firm, a consortium led by Baroness Mone's husband, businessman Doug Barrowman, was awarded government contracts by the former Tory administration. The couple have denied wrongdoing.

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