More than £20,000,000,000 lost by government during pandemic due to fraud

Slightly more than £7 billion relates to some of the schemes introduced during the coronavirus pandemic (Picture: Getty)

Billions of pounds have been lost by the government due to fraud since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – and it’s ‘very unlikely’ to be recovered.

The National Audit Office (NAO) says around £21 billion has been lost in the two years since the pandemic began, which is almost four times more than the £5.5 billion lost in the two years before.

Of that eyewatering figure...