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Corruption in the UK

Corruption in public office is the worst crime that can occur in a country.  It causes failure of provision, poor healthcare, collapse of justice and broken markets.  Corruption is the principle source of poverty in the world. 

Anyone who has travelled around the world knows that the truly big difference between well governed and poorly governed countries is corruption.  This obvious difference is apparent in the figures:


Poor countries suffer disproportionately and I have witnessed scenes in poor hospitals such as nurses raising the price of oxygen as a patient's need increases.  Corruption is truly the most evil of crimes.

Corruption is also rife in the UK but is usually covered up by complex schemes.  The wealth of Senior officials, Peers and MPs and their immediate family should be assessed on taking office and they should be asked at random intervals to account for any changes in wealth and this continued for 10 years after leaving office.

Corruption is an intentional, premeditated crime.  It can be stamped out if financial penalties are high.  The penalty for corruption in public office must always be a huge fine, perhaps a hundred times any corrupt payment given or received.  If relations and associates have been recipients of money from those guilty of corruption they should be fined equivalently. Needless to say, those guilty of corruption should be banned from all public positions and directorships for life.

The crime of Corruption in public office should be extended to receipt of payments from sources related to the public work of an individual even after leaving office.  This would mean that ex-Prime Ministers would be unable to set up a UK-China Fund if they gave Chinese companies large contracts whilst in office and would be unable to receive payments from Arab countries after declaring war in the Middle East when they were in office etc. (See Previous Prime Ministers. Are they Pure? ).

Large consultancies and public service providers from PwC to Serco must always be suspected of corrupting public officials.  Prior to any contracts being signed any companies with ex-public sector personnel in senior positions should be closely investigated (cf: Serco).

The Government should, of course, be able to use private sector providers but the scope for corruption is so great that periodic inspections of the accounts of public servants involved in recruiting these providers should be performed, even up to 10 years after they have left office. 

The UK has fairly strong anti-corruption legislation but the focus is too vague about corruption in public office, enforcement is weak and penalties are derisory. 

We should be almost 100% confident that holders of high public office are not corrupt, 80% means that the public are aware of events occurring that look like corruption (cf: Serco, Blair and Cameron). 

Corruption in public office is a hugely damaging, premeditated crime of greed, forget prison, the financial penalties must be draconian.  Adequate financial penalties and a credible threat of enforcement will stop corruption dead.  There should be no more "Hamiltons" who, although found guilty do not lose all of their wealth and can return to public office

1/10/2020

Tweet to the anti-corruption champion: John Penrose MP @JohnPenroseNews

 


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