Commenting on the Ministry of Justice’s decision to delay the publication of the Government’s guidance to companies on adequate procedures for preventing bribery Chandrashekhar Krishnan Executive Director of Transparency International UK, said:

31 January 2011

"This is disastrous news. Last July, the Government committed to publishing its Guidance to companies early in the new year so the Bribery Act would come into force in April 2011. The Government has failed to fulfil that commitment. Even worse it is not prepared to confirm a revised time frame.

"This raises serious doubts about the credibility of the Government’s commitment to the Bribery Act, which was passed in the last Parliament on the basis of an all-party consensus. The Act is a robust piece of legislation that will help to level the playing field for the vast majority of UK companies that want to conduct their resources-resources-business in an ethical manner. This delay creates unnecessary uncertainty for these companies and exposes the Government to international criticism that it is not serious about combating corruption".