Jess Christman, who runs a Scottish timber business, recalls that banks were “throwing money” at him during the Covid-19 pandemic as Rishi Sunak, then the chancellor, sought to help small companies stave off collapse.

Christman, who runs Black Isle Firewood, near Inverness, which produces firewood and sawn timber and huts for the tourism market, ended up taking out a government-backed loan under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS).

However, he had been struggling to…