Reeves to appoint Covid corruption tsar to claw back billions of waste

Chancellor understood to believe £2.6bn of public money lost to fraudsters during pandemic could be recouped

Rachel Reeves will appoint a commissioner within weeks tasked with recouping billions from Covid contract fraud, in an initiative that will turn the spotlight on to government waste.

The chancellor is understood to believe the Treasury can recoup £2.6bn from waste, fraud and flawed contracts signed during the pandemic.