THE Ministry of Defence (MoD) is not doing enough to combat the “apparent normalisation of fraud,” MPs warned today.

The Commons public accounts committee called for a “change of culture” in tackling the MoD’s fraud risk, estimated at £1.5 billion a year.

But it said even this figure was not “reliable” and that the department lacked a “credible understanding” of its potential losses.

The MoD recovered only 48p for every £1 spent on tackling fraud and economic crime, well below the government’s expectation of £3 for every £1 spent.

The committee also highlighted that £400 million of invalid contract payments were stopped in 2024-25, warning that suppliers “may regularly and repeatedly claim more than they are entitled to.”

Committee chairman Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said the department was “far behind the curve in preventing the loss of precious public funds.”

He added: “The apparent normalisation of fraud in the procurement process is symptomatic of a wider issue; there is no overarching strategy within the MoD of how to tackle fraud and economic crime.”

The MoD said the figures “primarily relate to a period under the previous government” and added that the department had “zero tolerance for fraud and corruption.”