I can’t help looking at the News International situation and wondering if this will be the opportunity prosecutors have been waiting for to obtain a high profile prosecution under the new Bribery Act.

Rebekah Brooks’ one line admission in 2009 of “we have paid police for information in the past” may just create the perfect storm to test the powers of the new Act.

We have heard, and will continue to hear at next week’s parliamentary committee hearing, that the senior management of the business did not know what was happening and they will claim that they have been let down, even betrayed, by those they trusted.

The act simply does not provide for that defence. It asks that as a corporate entity News International can show that they had adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery.

As the additional information that News International have at this point voluntarily passed over to the police becomes apparent, either by increased arrests and further press revelations or indeed trails and prosecutions, will we be able to see the depth and scale of any wrongdoing.

That is the point at which UK prosecutors must address the issue of whether or not News International, and the directors who under this legislation can be personally liable for prosecution, have a case to answer.

Stuart Brown
Stuart is Managing Director of Ten Alps Publishing, publishers of The Bribery Centre.