UK’s Labour Party says if elected it will track down billions lost to COVID-19 fraud

Britain’s main opposition Labour Party says that if it wins power, it will appoint a “COVID corruption commissioner” to try and recoup some of the billions lost to fraud and waste during the pandemic.

Labour economy spokeswoman Rachel Reeves is due to outline the plan in a speech today [Macau time] at the party’s annual conference. She says the commissioner will bring together tax officials, fraud investigators and law enforcement officers will track down an estimated 7.2 billion pounds ($8.8 billion) in lost public money spent on grants and contracts related to COVID-19.

Like many countries, the U.K. was forced to sidestep usual rules as it rushed to procure essential supplies and prop up people’s livelihoods during the coronavirus pandemic.

Reeves told the BBC the Conservative government was “embarrassed” by the scale of the losses and “doing nothing to get that money back.”

A multi-year public inquiry is examining Britain’s handling of the pandemic, which left more than 200,000 people in the country dead.

Reeves’ announcement comes during a four-day conference in Liverpool, where Labour is trying to cement its front-runner status in opinion polls before an election due in 2024.