From a total of 932 director disqualifications, over 459 were banned after abuse of Covid-19 financial support schemes, such as bounce back loans.

The Insolvency Service figures showed that directors found guilty of Covid-19 related fraud were hit with longer disqualification periods, with an average ban of seven years four months – up from five years and 10 months in 2021-22.

The number of disqualifications in 2022/23 was 16% higher than in 2021/22, which saw 804 directors disqualified.