More than half of the 3,280 company directors banned in Great Britain since 2023 were caught abusing Covid-19 financial support, new figures reveal, proof that the pandemic’s emergency lending schemes are still claiming casualties five years on.
Data released by the Insolvency Service, obtained through Freedom of Information requests by law firm Weightmans, shows that 1,683 disqualifications, 55 per cent of the total, related to the misuse of government-backed financial assistance during the pandemic.
Disqualifications peaked at 1,222 in 2023/24 and have eased since, with 1,021 recorded so far in 2025/26. The overwhelming majority, 3,054, were issued under Section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act, which…