Bounceback loans CEO ‘doesn’t know’ why Lord Agnew quit over Covid fraud

British Business Bank CEO Catherine Lewis La Torre has suggested she is not sure of the reasons why fraud minister Lord Agnew quit in frustration at Covid fraud.

She told the Treasury Committee that she “did not know” why the fraud minister resigned from the government, citing the failure to create a uniform database that he argues could have prevented duplicate loan fraud.

La Torre said stakeholders were negotiated with throughout the “Bounceback” Covid loan process, and that BEIS had now created a fora in which information regarding lender performance and fraud monitoring can be viewed.