The parable of Britain’s ‘anti-corruption champion’

Rishi Sunak's continued failure to appoint an anti-corruption tsar should be a national scandal. Instead it’s ignored and obfuscated.

Jan 21, 2024

Let me tell you a story. It’s about a country that describes itself as “world-leader in anti-corruption.”

This country spends tens of millions on international anti-corruption initiatives. It produces anti-corruption strategies to support “national security, prosperity and trust in institutions” at home.

But in private this country’s rulers take a very different approach to corruption.

They hand out billions of pounds in public contracts to ‘VIPs’. Seats in its upper house are sold to party donors for £3m a pop.

On this government’s watch, transparency has plunged to record lows. Most people think it’s institutionally corrupt.

And to top it all off, Rishi Sunak - the prime minister who promised to bring “integrity” back to number 10 - has left Westminster without an ‘anti-corruption champion’ for more than 18 months.

The anti-corruption tsar is supposed to “challenge and support the government” in its drive against corruption. The last incumbent, Tory MP John Penrose, resigned in June 2022 in protest after Boris Johnson flagrantly broke the ministerial code over partygate.

On the anniversary of Penrose’s departure last year, Oliver Dowden said the government was close to filling the role. Since then? Tumbleweed.

The anti-corruption champion is listed as ‘a personal appointment of the Prime Minister’. So this week I asked the government what the timeline was for appointing a new champion and whether anyone had been interviewed for the role.

The only response I got was a single line that said a new anti-corruption tsar “will be appointed in due course”. No dates, no detail, just the same line for the last year and a half.

On the back of my inquiries, Labour MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on anti-corruption and responsible tax Margaret Hodge wrote a letter to Sunak on Friday imploring him to act.

“I can see no reason for continuing to delay this appointment. Please could you give me a date by which you would expect to see a new anti-corruption champion in post. Failure to act will simply enable cronyism and corruption to become commonplace,” Hodge wrote. (The full letter is at the end of this newsletter.)

Hodge is right when she says that “the UK is now the destination of choice for every kleptocrat, oligarch and criminal looking to launder their ill-gotten gains, and we are no longer a trusted jurisdiction.”

Despite last year’s Economic Crime Bill, gaping holes remain. It’s still incredibly easy to set up British companies for fraudulent purposes.

Sunak’s failure to appoint an anti-corruption champion has not gone unnoticed among some in his own party. Tory peer Eric Pickles, a former anti-corruption champion himself, told me this week that “the Government should appoint an anti-corruption champion and they should do it now.”

“The role is an important one in that it tells important truths to government, in a semi-official way. It also gives ministers a reliable ally to push government into taking action, when the government machine is hoping for a quiet life,” Pickles added.

Appointing an anti-corruption champion would not suddenly transform Westminster into a temple of probity and accountability - but Sunak’s refusal to replace Penrose is telling. So, too, is how the role itself has been downgraded under the Conservative government.

The first anti-corruption champion, appointed in 2004, was Labour cabinet minister Hilary Benn. But in recent years, the tsar’s status has been demoted: first it became someone who attended Cabinet but wasn’t a minister (Matt Hancock, yes I know), before eventually being a backbench MP.

But the story of Sunak’s failings on corruption extend far beyond a missing Tory backbencher with ‘anti-corruption’ in their job title.

The prime minister has dodged scrutiny by failing to appoint a chair of the Climate Change Committee. There was no advisor on ministerial interests for six months before Laurie Magnus was appointed in December.

The UK’s five-year anti-corruption strategy ended in 2022. Ministers promised a new strategy by the end of last year, but none has been forthcoming. (Sounds familiar?)

Few expect the strategy, whenever it arrives, to be sufficient. Unlike many other countries, Britain does not have any general anti-corruption law or an official anti-corruption body.

As Transparency International’s Duncan Hames told me, “leaders may be tempted to think standards in public life can be upheld by their own character - but anyone can find themselves in a compromised situation, so strong institutions and initiatives to build a culture of integrity really do matter.”

TI’s global corruption index is published at the end of this month. It will be very interesting to see where the UK ranks, having plunged to its lowest ever level last year.

The most remarkable aspect of the Conservatives’ paper tiger approach to tackling corruption is the complete refusal to do anything about dirty money in politics.

The last anti-corruption strategy said almost nothing about political donations. Since then the Conservatives, increasingly reliant on dark money, have neutered the Electoral Commission.

Now we head into a general election - one in which record sums of money are already being raised - with no law enforcement body overseeing political donations and new election laws that make it even easier to funnell cash anonymously into British politics.

Do as I say, don’t do as I do. This is the long, sad parable of Britain attitude to corruption and cronyism.

As the next general election approaches, I will continue to shine a spotlight on corruption, dark money and hidden influence. If you can please consider becoming a paid subscriber so I can do more of this work.

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