Bungling ministers pay £2.3bn after allowing criminal gangs to flog cheap goods

09 February 2023 , 17:24

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John Glenn, pictured with former PM Theresa May, admitted the government had made massive payments to the EU to resolve the dispute (Image: PA)

Bungling ministers have paid an eye-watering £2.3 BILLION to the EU after a court ruled Britain had allowed criminal gangs to flood the single market with cheap Chinese goods.

It follows a damning verdict after the European Commission complained importers evaded several customs duties with fake invoices and artificially low-value declarations for textiles and footwear.

Tory MP John Glen, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, admitted handing over the massive sum to settle a dispute which has rumbled on for 12 years.

In March last year the European Court of Justice ruled the UK had failed to bring in measures needed to tackle the import fraud between 2011 and 2017, when Britain was still a member of the EU.

Mr Glen said in a written statement that the government had paid up as further wrangling would result in an even larger bill.

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No 10 has said that paying up was the right thing to do (Getty Images)

He informed MPs that the UK government had shelled out 2.6 billion euros to settle the case.

This comprised of a 678 million euro payment in June last year, followed by 700 million euros last month - and 1.2 million euros in interest on Monday.

His statement said: "These are substantial sums but represent the final payments and draw a line under this long running case, with the UK fulfilling its international obligations."

He added: "Whilst the UK has now left the European Union and this is a legacy matter from before our departure, the Government is keen to resolve this long-running case once and for all and is committed to fulfilling its international obligations."

Mr Glen claimed that the UK had taken "appropriate steps" to counter the fraud, but said increased measures had been brought in.

He added that the government was "conscious of the risk of further protracted legal proceedings", which he said could result in a larger overall bill and higher interest payments.

No10 said paying up was the right thing to do.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "You will be aware that this a legacy issue from our time as part of the EU and this payment brings the long running case to an end.

"It protects UK taxpayers from the risk of any further protracted legal proceedings and would be a potentially bigger bill.

"So we believe it was the right thing to do and now we are outside the EU we can set out own law, including tax and trade policies that work for the UK."

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