The Chancellor has appointed Tom Hayhoe as Covid corruption commissioner to claw back taxpayers’ money wasted on deals during the pandemic.

He has started a review of £8.7 billion worth of PPE bought during the pandemic that was later written off the government’s books.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves previously said she had ditched Tory plans to waive £674 million of the more than £1.2 billion of PPE contracts in dispute and that those deals will be assessed by the commissioner.

Mr Hayhoe has chaired NHS trusts and worked in corporate strategy and consumer marketing. He became chairman of the Legal Services Board’s consumer panel in May.

He will take on the part-time role of Covid counter-fraud commissioner for one year and be tasked with scrutinising contracts awarded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The newly created position is part of Labour’s efforts to recover public money lost to pandemic-related fraud, error and underperforming contracts.

The commissioner will first focus on reviewing PPE contracts.