A 57-year-old man suspected of fraudulently claiming £495,000 through the furlough scheme has been arrested - the first such case in the country. Customs officers executed a search warrant in the Solihull area, Birmingham, yesterday, seizing computers and other digital devices. HMRC said it 'will not hesitate' to act on reports of fraud relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which 'deprives public services of essential funding'. Rishi Sunak, pictured in Worcester today, created the furlough scheme to protect people's jobs during the crisis. More than £27.4 billion has been spent through the furlough scheme, which has seen the government support more than 8.7 million jobs - about a third of the UK workforce.

Source: Daily Mail July 09, 2020 12:11 UTC