The first attempt to put the common law offence of bribery on a statutory basis was in 1889. For many decades there has been agreement that the law was unclear and unsatisfactory, especially as regards offences committed by corporations, but there was agreement on little else. Eventually the Bribery Act 2010 was passed to put the offences on a fresh statutory basis. It has now been in force nearly eight years, and a House of Lords Select Committee has been conducting post legislative scrutiny to see whether the Act is achieving its intended purposes.

Open publication