Bribery Bill [Lords]

May I say to the hon. Gentleman how much I agree with everything he is saying? I pay tribute to his role in bringing about such legislation. He might recall that I had a go when I promoted a Bill that had been passed by another place, yet made no progress. Given that other countries have been ahead of ours on putting in place such legislation, I cannot understand why there was such delay on the part of the Government. Can the hon. Gentleman throw any light on why the Government have dragged their feet for so long when it is transparently necessary that we bring the UK into line with its treaty obligations and other civilised countries throughout the world?