Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ian Levy and Bob Blackman

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Serious Fraud Office’s response to the covid-19 outbreak.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Serious Fraud Office’s response to the covid-19 outbreak.

[The Solicitor General (Michael Ellis)]

The Serious Fraud Office responded quickly to the disruption caused by covid, and it has continued to progress casework during this period. Notably, it has achieved a conclusion of the prosecutions in the Unaoil case, reached a deferred prosecution agreement with G4S, laid charges in the GPT case and obtained asset confiscation orders in other cases. The SFO’s ability to maintain operational effectiveness during covid was recognised in the report on its response to the pandemic that was published by the Crown Prosecution Service inspectorate.