Foreboding

In the near future there may be protests in the centre of Birmingham and the local football derby will have taken place at St Andrews. In the light of recent events, it's hard to be optimistic about how things may unfold. I shall not be in town for any of these 'upcoming activities'. I hope that the police have jolted out of their apparent complacency and the city is in one piece when I come back.

Trends In Bribery

I’ve been having fun with Craig Murray of late. I pulled him up for attacking our winning candidate in Norwich North - Chloe Smith – on the grounds that she had worked for Deloitte. He reacted in characteristically over-the-top style to this criticism, with an extra-ordinary post on his blog where he accused auditors of bribing the Tories. Having said all I need to say to Craig (and I think it’s safe to say that nobody who is involved with running our financial system will be consulting him) it made me go away and have a closer look at bribery and bribery law.

And the news is this. This Autumn, from the government which didn’t bring you an investigation into BAe, expect new legislation relating to the giving and receiving of bribes. In addition to reforming legislation related to these criminal activities, a new corporate liability offence of "negligently failing to prevent bribery" will be introduced. As a risk management professional, I am grateful for this extra offence as the enhanced requirements on companies that ensue is good for my trade. Draft bill here.