Critics have said that, rather than considering softening their stance, the government should be looking for ways to plug loopholes and getting tougher on bribery and fraud. There have also been warnings that softening the law will contradict what the Prime Minister said when visiting South-East Asia in a bid to try and drum up new business for the country.

The UK had come under a lot of external pressure from foreign countries amid claims that the government were not doing enough to prevent corruption and bribery. Following years of criticism, the coalition governments introduce what it said was the toughest anti-bribery act the world had seen. At the time, when the Bill was first introduced, the Confederation of British Industry said that it would restrict economic growth, although the PM defended the Bill at the time.

Lobbyists continued to fight against the new laws, even after it was formally introduced in 2011. They said that because it was so much more stringent than laws around the world, it meant that UK businesses were instantly placed at a disadvantage when compared to the rest of the world. They held up US anti-bribery laws as being an example of what they meant.

Despite these concerns continuing, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that there were a number of loopholes that needed filling, rather than the Bill being softened. Consultation is now likely to begin, and there will be arguments from both sides, so it is unlikely that a decision will be made instantly on whether the Bill needs to be changed or whether the apparent loopholes need to be filled and tightened.

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Few details of the fraud have emerged as yet, due to the fact that there is still an ongoing police investigation into the matter. However, it is known that £220,000 was taken, that the fraudster used a series of complex methods to embezzle funds, and that all of the money has been recovered by the event organisers, who said that they are confident that they could not have done much more.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is held every year and attracts millions of visitors from all around the world to various venues and to see shows, exhibitions, and acts that take part on the streets of Edinburgh. It is attended by celebrities, boasts some of the biggest names in entertainment among its performers, and it is renowned around the world for highlighting up and coming talent before they have made it big. As such, it also attracts a lot of money on an annual basis.

One former employee of the event, who has yet to be named until after the police investigation is completed, took advantage of this huge flow of money, and took an average of £26,000 a year from the fund coffers. This equates to less than 1% of the total annual purse, showing that the swindler was willing to be patient in a bid to try and ensure that they were not discovered.

While it took eight years to raise suspicions, Fringe organisers have said that their systems did alert them to a potential problem and they contacted police in January as a result of the information that they had gathered. It took two months, but they have apparently recovered all of the money, and the person responsible no longer works for the group.

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Car insurance prices had been reducing over the past year or so, following a promise by insurers to lower their prices. However, the AA has reported that the past several months have seen premium prices increasing gradually once again, and while critics will argue that this shouldn’t be happening, insurers will point to the number of fraudulent applications as being one reason why prices must increase.

Another reason for the increase is the rise in insurance tax being levied by the government. The AA has estimated that this increase in tax will equate to a rise of an average of £18 to a typical car owner and on comprehensive policies. This is due to the tax charged to insurance companies increasing from 6% to 9.5% in November and insurers have already warned that this will lead to an increase in prices for customers.

There were a number of fraudulent methods reported. Some of these techniques include giving false information, such as providing a false postcode for an address with lower insurance costs, failing to give details of penalties and endorsements on a licence, and the act of drivers “fronting” policies for their kids – putting themselves down as the main driver, even though the car is driven primarily by their son or daughter.

The ABI also warned drivers about the practice of “ghost broking” where fraudulent brokers sell non-existent policies to drivers. This means that the driver is then unwittingly driving around without insurance, which can lead to penalty points, a hefty fine, and even to disqualification in some cases. It is possible to check the askmid website to determine whether your car is currently and legally insured or not.

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