The British government said that due to the costs of the pandemic of 372 billion pounds, taxpayers will have to bear this amount for decades, BBC News reported.

In two new reports, the Public Accounts Committee highlighted an estimated £ 26bn loss from fraud and loan defaults to businesses to help them cope with the pandemic.

In the second report, the committee also noted an unacceptably high level of wasteful spending with 2.1 billion items of unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) purchased, amounting to more than £ 2 billion in public money.

Taxpayers will be exposed to financial risks for 20 years, the Committee noted, urging the British government to learn from the lessons before the promised public inquiry to take place in 2022.

The UK's national debt now stands at more than £ 2.2 trillion, or about 99.7% of GDP, a figure not seen since the early 1960s. In June alone, interest on debts amounted to 8.7 billion pounds, the newspaper writes.