The Bank of England has ‘lost’ £50bn in bank notes – has anyone checked the lorry park in Kent?

According to the National Audit Office, three-quarters of the Bank of England’s supply of bank notes has gone missing. Where the hell have they gone, asks Janet Street-Porter

Under the mattress, perhaps? (Getty/iStock)

How much cash have you got stashed under the mattress? According to the National Audit Office, three-quarters of the Bank of England’s supply of bank notes has gone missing. That’s a hell of a lot. Around £50bn to be exact. I know that the new £10 notes are slippery buggers – in fact, they don’t seem like real money compared to their thicker £20 pals – but how did our trusty bankers manage to mislay this huge amount of dosh?  

At the start of lockdown last March, the public were accused of withdrawing large amounts of cash “in case of an emergency”. Then we realised that handling money – especially small change – might not be hygenic (who want to wash every 50p piece?), and now we eagerly flash plastic for every purchase, even when that might just be another bar of chocolate to get us through hours of Nicole Kidman and her strangely frozen features.