VZCZCXRO1599
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHLO #2582/01 3221536
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181536Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4003
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHSS/OECD POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 002582 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS EEB/OMA: KELLEY, L: WIERZYNSKI, INL: LEVENTHAL, 
USOECD: BATES 
DOJ FOR MARK MENDELSOHN 
COMMERCE FOR KATHRYN NICKERSON 
SEC FOR TROY BEATTY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EU OECD PREL PGOV KCRM UK
SUBJECT: ANTI-BRIBERY BILL HEADS TO PARLIAMENT, BUT PASSAGE 
UNCERTAIN BEFORE ELECTIONS 
 
LONDON 00002582  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The UK government included anti-bribery 
legislation among its priorities in the Queen's Speech on 
November 18, 2009, at the State opening of Parliament.  While 
this indicates HMG commitment to meet OECD and other global 
anti-bribery standards, some observers doubt, however, that 
Parliament will have time to pass the bill before adjourning 
for elections expected to be held in May.  End Summary. 
 
The UK Anti-Bribery Bill 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The draft Bribery Bill is on the UK government's 
list of priorities and enjoys the support of both the Labour 
government and opposition Conservatives.  It has undergone 
public and pre-legislative parliamentary scrutiny and awaits 
formal introduction.  During her speech at the official 
opening of Parliament November 18, the Queen announced that 
"a bill will be introduced to strengthen the law against 
bribery."  The UK Department for Business, Industry and 
Skills (BIS), who were responsible for the drafting of the 
bill, will now begin to finalize a draft for official 
presentation by the government to Parliament.  However, 
because national elections must be held by June 2010, this 
Parliamentary session will be shorter than usual, making it 
uncertain whether the bill can undergo the necessary hearings 
and procedures in both the House of Lords and House of 
Commons before Parliament adjourns for elections. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  The draft bill was published in March 2009, and 
stakeholders, including business representatives testified 
before the Joint Parliamentary Committee.  In July, the Joint 
Parliamentary Committee produced a report that noted 
stakeholder objections and/or potential legal difficulties, 
but gave a positive review of the proposed legislation. 
(Full report available at: http://www.publications.parliament 
.uk/pa/jt200809/jtselect/jtbribe/115/115i.pdf  Noting the 
UK's slow record of legislative reform on bribery, Secretary 
of State of Justice Jack Straw has repeatedly and publicly 
stated his personal commitment to see the Bribery Bill passed 
into law before the end of his term in office.  With 
government elections expected in May 2010 -- and required by 
June 3, 2010 -- the Parliamentary session will likely be 
curtailed in the Spring.  That gives supporters of the 
Bribery Bill only a few months time to shepherd the bill 
through the Parliamentary process. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Two possible stumbling blocks to quick passage 
remain: parliamentary privilege and the UK security services. 
 The UK Bill of Rights (1689) grants Members of Parliament 
(MPs) parliamentary privilege, which includes immunity from 
prosecution in civil matters relating to their official 
duties.  Privilege also applies to parliamentary proceedings, 
preventing transcripts of these from being used as evidence 
in a prosecution, civil or criminal.  Opinion is split on 
whether the draft Bribery Bill needs a provision providing an 
exemption to parliamentary privilege in cases where 
corruption/bribery is charged on the part of MPs. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The draft contains two clauses allowing the 
government to pre-authorize bribery by security service 
personnel for national security reasons.  Some critics of the 
draft, including the OECD's Legal Director Nicola Bonucci, 
have characterized these provisions as officially sanctioning 
bribery.  A workable solution to this and the parliamentary 
privilege issue are needed in order for the draft bill to 
move quickly through three readings as well as a committee 
and report stage in each House of Parliament.  Amendments 
tackling these two issues are expected after the second 
reading of the bill in either chamber, but no proposals have 
yet been made public. 
 
Background: 
----------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Although acts of bribery committed in the UK have 
been illegal under the law for centuries, the current 
"patchwork" of legal acts dating back to 1889 uses 
inconsistent terminology, vague definitions and 
differentiates between the public and  private sectors.  This 
makes prosecuting bribery offenses difficult and offers 
little clarity to businesses that need to create ethical 
 
LONDON 00002582  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
codes of behavior and train staff.  In fact, no UK company 
has ever been convicted under the current set of laws, aside 
from Mabey and Johnson Ltd., a bridge building company that 
self-reported the bribes it paid to the UK's Serious Fraud 
Office in 2007.  The last update to the legal patchwork came 
in 2001 when jurisdiction was expanded to include acts of 
bribery committed by UK citizens and companies abroad. More 
comprehensive bribery reform efforts begun in the 1990's were 
eventually abandoned. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Despite the domestic legal situation, the UK is 
signatory to several anti-bribery conventions of the 
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development 
(OECD), the Council of Europe and the United Nations. 
However, in 2003, 2005 and 2007 the OECD's Working Group on 
Bribery criticized the UK for its lack of "modern bribery 
legislation" and underscored the need to "establish effective 
corporate liability for bribery as a matter of high 
priority."  In 2007 the UK Law Commission began a 
consultation process to draft a Bribery Bill that met the 
OECD standard.  A report was published in October 2008 and 
consultations with experts from the OECD were held in early 
¶2009. 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Although BIS and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
(FCO) are confident the draft bill will be introduced to 
Parliament shortly now that it has been included in the 
Queen's speech, they remain uncertain how much opposition it 
may attract.  Finding quick solutions to the outstanding 
legal issues mentioned will be key to ensuring it maintains 
momentum in Parliament.  Although Justice Secretary Jack 
Straw and others remain committed to its passage before a 
change of government, it remains to be seen if effective 
champions for the bill emerge in both the Houses of 
Parliament.  Statements made by MPs during the initial and/or 
second readings of the draft bill should allow us to better 
gauge the likelihood of passage.  Should the bill fail to 
pass before a new government is elected, the UK will receive 
further criticism from the OECD and others for failing to 
live up to its international obligations to pass binding 
legislation. 
 
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SUSMAN