The MoD’s tackling of economic crime and misconduct

Status / emerging findings

• MoD recovered only 48p per pound spent on counter-fraud over four years, versus a £3-per-pound Treasury target; a recent £1.34 figure from one commercial review does not signal sustained improvement
• 130 separate risk registers exist across the MoD with some containing severe/critical risks unreviewed for up to five years; no coherent enterprise risk picture
• MoD Police has only 7 full-time economic crime investigators despite running a confidential whistleblower hotline, suggesting severe resource constraint
• Permanent Secretary acknowledged MoD 'needs to do more' on counter-fraud strategy and committed to refresh three-year strategy by September (though will not publish the full document)

Why it matters

At a time of record defence spending and heightened geopolitical risk, the MoD's weak grip on internal fraud and misconduct exposes taxpayers to significant losses and undermines confidence that public money is being spent securely.

Tone arc

Started with MoD leadership defending 'good progress'; pivoted to sharp scrutiny after witnesses struggled to reconcile claimed progress against the 48p recovery rate and acknowledged outdated risk registers unreviewed for years.

Key witnesses

Jeremy Pocklington CB (MoD Permanent Secretary), Aneen Blackmore, Jim Carter, Simon Dobinson