Taxpayers will bear the costs of Covid “for decades” – and an inquiry will not come soon enough to learn lessons from the pandemic, MPs have said.
In two new reports, the Public Accounts Committee said No 10’s response to the crisis has exposed UK taxpayers to “significant financial risks”.
The MPs also attacked government spending on unusable protective kit.
The Department of Health said there were “processes” to ensure spending gives taxpayers value for money.
In the cross-party reports published on Sunday, the PAC said the taxpayer would be exposed to “significant financial risks for decades to come” with the estimated cost of the government’s measures having already hit £372bn in May.
UK government debt is now over £2.2 trillion, or about 99.7% of GDP – a rate not seen since the early 1960s. In June alone, debt interest cost £8.7bn.
