A lack of co-ordination will weaken momentum for deep, lasting reform, warns Transparency International UK, the anti-corruption watchdog. It draws four lessons:
The Government is ill-equipped to respond to a corruption crisis that spans several sectors. There is no individual or institution with the remit to coordinate a robust response to corruption in the UK โ although ironically the government has an โoverseas anti-corruption championโ.
– There is an undercurrent of corruption in several key UK institutions. This scandal alone has shone the spotlight on the media, the police, politicians, regulatory scrutiny and the ethical integrity of a major UK company. Yet several anti-corruption oversight structures are being hastily dismantled or severely cut back under government plans. This should be put on hold until the consequences have been properly examined.
– Practices that have been taken for granted for many years should now come under review, such as the willingness of politicians to accept corporate and media hospitality and โrevolving doorโ employment between major media companies, political offices and the police.
– Overall, the UK is complacent about corruption. This has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, in which corruption is not seriously analysed or investigated, and individuals have behaved unethically in the belief that they would not or should not be held to account. It is notable that with each high profile resignation over the past week, the individuals in question have denied any ethical shortcomings.
Chandrashekhar Krishnan, Executive Director of Transparency International UK, said: โThis case has shone an awkward spotlight on undercurrents of corruption in key UK institutions. It is clear that there is systemic complacency about corruption in the UK, even if the problem is not endemic. The Government needs the courage to admit that many checks and balances have failed. Instead of a proliferation of inquiries we need urgent action to put in place policies that will prevent such a crisis from happening again and restore public trust in our key institutions."
Last month TI UK published a report which examined the level of corruption across 23 UK sectors and institutions including all those affected by the phone hacking scandal. Our report highlighted a level of complacency โ and some cases, denial โ over the level of UK corruption. You can view the report by going to http://www.transparency.org.uk/ti-uk-programmes/corruption-in-the-uk
Former Labour minister Clare Short is on December 8 giving the annual Transparency International UK evening lecture, to mark the United Nationโs official anti-corruption day. Itโs at Canary Wharf, at law firm Clifford Chance, 10 Upper Bank Street, London E14 5JJ.
She stood down from Parliament in 2010, and is now active in various organisations working in the UK and in the developing world. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of International Lawyers for Africa and chairs the International Advisory Board of the Cranfield Masters in Security Sector Management Programme.
Ti is holding its agm on November 22 in London; for members only.
