𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Britain’s armed forces face the challenge of deterring the nation’s foes while stopping fraudsters draining cash from the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Parliament’s spending watchdog has called for a “radical change of culture” and sounded the alarm about the “apparent normalisation of fraud”, with £1.5billion a year potentially lost. The cross-party public accounts committee found the MoD had recovered only 48p for every £1 it spent on tackling fraud and economic crime between 2021-22 and 2024-25 – far less than the £3 return expected.

This follows a National Audit Office report warning that in 2024 the MoD received around 2,500 “security incident” reports of missing items – 30% of which were “attractive to criminal and terrorist organisations”, such as “weaponry, protective equipment and communications devices”.

The latest report lands as pressure mounts for the Britain’s armed forces to be strengthened, with spending on contracts due to increase from £40 billion a year to more than £70 billion by 2028-29.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who chairs the committee, said: “We welcome the Government’s aim to spend an increasing portion of GDP on defence, even as we are disappointed at the unacceptable and continuing delay in a plan laying out how they will do so. But in the midst of these issues, our report finds that the MoD is far behind the curve in preventing the loss of precious public funds which could be spent on keeping our nation safe.

“This is on top of the £1.6billion that our inquiry into financial audit found had been wasted by the MoD through cancelled projects… There must be a radical change of culture within the MoD if the flow of funds lost to fraudulent activity is to be stemmed. The apparent normalisation of fraud in the procurement process is symptomatic of a wider issue; there is no overarching strategy within the MoD of how to tackle fraud and economic crime.”

William Yarwood of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “Taxpayers will be appalled that the Ministry of Defence is potentially exposed to £1.5 billion of fraud every year while recovering less than 50p for every pound spent fighting it. At a time of growing global threats and strained public finances, billions are being lost that should be strengthening Britain’s armed forces. The MoD needs a complete culture change, tougher procurement oversight and far stronger leadership to stop money meant for defence disappearing into a black hole of waste and fraud.”

Shadow defence minister David Reed warned: “At a time of war in Europe and instability across the Middle East, every pound spent on defence must be properly protected and targeted towards capability. Labour’s continually delayed Defence Investment Plan only increases uncertainty and undermines confidence that procurement risks are being addressed with the urgency required. The Government now needs to show it has a credible plan not only to increase defence spending, but to ensure that money is safeguarded from fraud, waste, and commercial abuse.”

An MOD spokesperson said: “The figures cited by the NAO primarily relate to a period under the previous Government. We are turning that around, and last year we saved £1.34 for every £1 spent on counter-fraud measures, significantly increased on 33p for every £1 spent in 2023/24 and we expect this to be further improved this year.

“The Defence Secretary is driving the biggest reforms to defence in over 50 years, fixing procurement, increasing accountability and tackling waste. As part of this, he has appointed the first ever National Armaments Director, with a remit that includes driving improved value for money from defence contracts.

“We have zero tolerance for fraud and corruption and we will continue to strengthen our controls, exploiting the latest technology to prevent and detect fraud and protecting taxpayer’s money as we help keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”