Lee Anderson has hit out at the Government’s failure to tackle “low life thieves” in Britain, after a gang of Bulgarian nationals were convicted of the country’s biggest ever benefit fraud.
The gang pleaded guilty to pocketing over £50million of taxpayer money, after making false Universal Credit claims over a number of years.
Appearing on GB News, Reform MP Lee Anderson claimed the case is “just the tip of the iceberg”, as it has since been revealed that £11billion has been lost to universal credit fraud in the last two years alone.
Speaking to host Patrick Christys, Anderson said the Bulgarian government “should be accountable” for the gang’s crime, and Britons across the country will be left “furious” by the revelation.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride he was “immensely proud” of the DWP investigators work, in collaboration with the Crown Prosecution Service, to “take down this organised crime group”.
Stride added: “These convictions underline our commitment to protecting taxpayers money, and it is only right and fair that we bring to justice those stealing from the public purse.”
Hitting out at the government, Anderson fumed: “There are people setting their alarm clocks for five in the morning to go and do a shift and pay their taxes, and do the right thing by their family and this country. Then you get this riff raff scamming us out of £50million.
“I know they are here legally, but the Bulgarian government should be accountable for this rubbish that they’re sending to our country.”
Patrick was in agreement with Anderson and raged at the “fact that they could get away with it for so long”, and noted the “bigger picture is the £11billion lost” to fraud.
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Patrick raged: “Most people will undoubtedly be taxpayers as well. Sorry, but we need a refund!”
Anderson defended Mel Stride but hit out at the DWP, claiming: “I’ve got a lot of respect for Mel, I like the bloke, but saying he’s proud of the DWP for getting to the bottom of this – it’s the DWP that’s let this happen in the first place. They should hang their heads in shame.”
Patrick then asked Lee for his thoughts on the latest bid to tackle shoplifting, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £55million scheme to crackdown on the scourge of shoplifting that is plaguing Britain’s high streets.
Anderson blasted the scheme and said the “low life thieves” committing these crimes are “not the great train robbers, the criminal brains, or criminal masterminds”. They are “going into shops and clearing the shelves and walking out in broad daylight”.
Anderson raged: “It’s so obvious who these shoplifters are in communities like mine or the police have got to do is turn up when the shopkeepers report them and go and arrest them. It’s as simple as that.
“He’s doing the right thing, but like I say, it’s 2024 and we’re struggling with shoplifters.”
Rishi Sunak said of the new scheme: “This is a brand new offence for assaulting shop workers, using facial recognition technology to catch perpetrators with CCTV, but also a greater use of electronic tagging of prolific shoplifters.
“It’s been warmly welcomed by retailers and police I’ve spoken to today and, crucially, will demonstrate to our shop workers that we’ve got their back, and also that we will do what it takes to keep our streets and our community safe.”
