Stephen urges Government to tackle online scams

On Thursday 2 December, Stephen spoke in the House of Commons on pension scams and urged the Government to act.

The Work and Pensions Select Committee, which Stephen chairs, has reported back on its inquiry into pension scams. The Committee heard evidence from a number of different people and organisations, including the Pension Scams Industry Group, who have estimated that £10 billion has been lost to pension scams by 40,000 people since 2015.

During the Backbench Business debate on Economic Crime, Stephen raised this issue in Parliament. He urged the Government to include paid-for scam advertisements in the Online Safety Bill, which is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny.

Speaking in the debate, Stephen said “if [the law] is not changed, crooks will continue to ruin the lives of thousands by advertising scams online. That would be an unforgiveable failure of Government.”

You can watch Stephen’s full speech below.