The Bribery Act - One Year On

With much fanfare, the UK's Bribery Act, trumpeted by many as the most stringent anti-corruption legislation in the world, came into force on 1 July 2011 (those who had managed to get all their bribes paid by 30 June breathed a sigh of relief). One year on, what has the impact of this far-reaching piece of legislation been? Was it, as some commentators feared, the end of private boxes at Ascot and seats at the Wimbledon finals? Were businessmen returning from doing deals in far-flung parts of the world immediately arrested on arrival at Heathrow? Or has it all been a damp squib?

Corruption was, of course, illegal in the UK long before the Bribery Act was drafted. Under the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, it was an offence to bribe or offer to bribe a public official or for a public official to accept a bribe. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, it was a criminal offence for any agent to accept or offer a bribe for doing or forbearing to