A group of UK anti-corruption organisations has called on the government to “ramp up the fight against corruption” by appointing a new anti-corruption champion and investing more funds into the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office.
The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition said the new Labour government has a “unique opportunity” to rebuild trust in UK institutions and democracy. But it said “bold action will be needed to ensure a sea change”.
A poll by the organisation published earlier this year found that two-thirds of voters believe UK politics is becoming more corrupt, with the Partygate scandal named as undermining trust more than any other event.
The UK has not had an anti-corruption champion for 759 days, after the last holder of the role resigned in protest at Partygate. The UK Anti-Corruption Coalition urged the Labour Party to “show it is serious" by naming a new anti-corruption champion in its first 100 days in government.
The anti-corruption champion oversees government's cross-departmental anti-corruption strategy, which is also well overdue a refresh, having expired in 2022. The coalition wants the government to get straight to work on a new anti-corruption and illicit-finance strategy, which it says should be published by next January.
The group has also urged the government to “invest in staff and technology for enforcement agencies like the National Crime Agency and the Serious Fraud Office, so they can target economic crime and corruption more effectively, and recover more criminal assets”. It said these agencies “recover more money from successful prosecutions than they cost to run”.
Other recommendations made by the coalition include: reforming procurement “meaningfully and ambitiously”; introducing greater lobbying transparency; strengthening post-government employment rules to prevent abuse of the “revolving door”; creating a new independently enforced, ethics-based ministerial code; and making corruption in public life a statutory offence, as recommended by the Law Commission in 2020.
The organisations also want the government to outline how Labour’s planned Covid corruption commissioner will investigate misspending of public money in the pandemic response and hold companies accountable.
Last month, a prominent political scientist called on Labour to set up a commission against corruption if it won power at the election, following a series of recent scandals in public service.