Bribery Bill [Lords]

Some companies remain in the United Kingdom and conduct business offshore. The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. He should join our Committee and champion the cause, but let us not fail to do the right thing ourselves because others are moving more slowly. We need to get the Bill on the statute book. Then we will be in a much stronger position to talk to other jurisdictions and persuade them of the necessity for them to introduce similar legislation. I should like to make one or two comments on the Bill. In clause 10, the Government propose that the Attorney-General should give up his powers to consent to a prosecution. That is a fundamentally good thing for the Government to do. In the other place Lord Henley queried why the role of the Attorney-General was being so reduced. I do not think that is the case, but it is a good thing that he or she should give up the power. Bribery is an area in which there should not be political influence or even the appearance of political influence. There was great controversy when the Attorney-General advised the director of the Serious Fraud Office that it would not be in the public interest to proceed with a prosecution of British Aerospace. That attracted a great deal of criticism at home and abroad, and there was the suspicion that that was a political decision and that the issues of national security were not as compelling as the Attorney-General had suggested. I do not know what those issues of national security were, nor I suspect does any other Member here, given that the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor is not present at the moment. Of course, I may be wrong and the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Watford (Claire Ward), may be fully apprised of the issues in the BAE Systems case. Perhaps there were good reasons why it would not have been in the national interest to prosecute, but the determination was made by a political appointee who attends Cabinet meetings when legal advice is sought, and that allowed people to make the accusation of political interference with the justice system. It is much better to have a paid professional, with tenure and an appointment, making those decisions, and I hope that there is no change to clause 10. On clause 13, there are circumstances in which our intelligence services, security services and, indeed, military personnel on active service have to provide financial or other inducements, ugly though that may be, to safeguard the security of citizens in this country and, possibly, their own security. The Bill rightly includes an exemption to remove from those who are fighting for our security the threat of prosecution. However, I should not like to see any mission creep, through the defence that will be available to an intelligence officer who seeks important information being used by somebody who procures equipment for our armed forces but resorts to bribery claiming, "This is necessary to provide the best equipment, or a delivery date at the appropriate time, for our forces in the field." If we allow bribery to play a part in procurement for our armed and security forces, we will undermine our security, because a bribe increases the cost of one's purchases. Some years ago in Pakistan, an admiral was put on trial for spending $540 million on submarines that were worth less than half that figure. The difference of course was the bribe, which he required to sign the contract. If we allow bribery into our procurement system, we increase the costs of the things that we procure and thus reduce the equipment that is available to, and undermine the effectiveness of, our defence or security forces. Importantly, therefore, we must ensure that there is no creep in the scope of the defence in clause 13. In response to my intervention, my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor said that there was no intention to broaden the scope of the clause, and I accept that. He said that the exemption from prosecution of defence equipment procurement under the clause was not just unlikely but wholly improbable, which is a pretty strong reassurance that the Government have no intention of using the clause in that way. I hope that the issue will be discussed further in Committee or, possibly, on Report in order to put more flesh on the bones, because we must send a clear signal to the public and public officials involved in procurement for the armed or security services that the defence that is necessarily in the Bill for certain purposes will not cover defence procurement by any such public official. I want the Bill to go through. It clearly has all-party support, and with a fair wind it will be on the statute book before the general election. However, looking beyond that, I say to the Government Front-Bench team that once the legislation is on the statute book, good use must be made of it. I am concerned that the Serious Fraud Office, the main investigating and prosecuting agency, does not have sufficient resources to investigate the cases that are reported to it, because of a reporting procedure that was set up in response to the Africa all-party parliamentary group's report. Budgets are tight, but the enforcement of this law is important, and I hope that the Government will ensure that the SFO has sufficient resources to implement it once it has been passed. It is important to maintain the post of anti-corruption champion within the Government, and I hope that in the Opposition's winding-up speech we receive an assurance of that—in the unlikely circumstances of a change of Government. I should like the champion to report to Parliament, perhaps through a written ministerial statement from time to time, on the performance of the legal process in ensuring compliance with the OECD and EU conventions. I should like also to see some work with the business community—the CBI and others—to ensure that British business men fully understand the change in the law. I do not want to see dozens of them being taken to court, fined or made to pay a compensatory payment in place of a prosecution. I just want business practice changed, and that is why the Government should work with business to ensure compliance with the law. The legislation is necessary because bribes add to procurement costs. In private businesses that procure goods, it hits the profit line, and in government it adds to costs without improving public services. It is a problem at home and abroad. Despite the long gestation period, I am delighted that the Government have brought forward this legislation. I shall support it, and I hope that it proceeds swiftly through Committee, back to the Floor of the House and on to the statute book.