Lord Nolan

Nolan Committee Welcomes Anti-Corruption Moves

The Nolan Committee, set up to investigate standards in public life, has welcomed a Government initiative to jail MPs who take bribes.

Home Secretary Jack Straw plans to introduce a tough anti-sleaze Bill to make MPs subject to the criminal law on bribery.

MPs who accept illegal bribes could face up to seven years in jail, under legislation proposals to be unveiled by the Home Secretary, although the Government is not looking to introduce the legislation until late next year because of the pressure on parliamentary time. <> The Nolan committee has backed Mr Straw's plan and is to recommend a new offence of misconduct in public life when it publishes a major report in a few weeks time.

A spokesman for the committee, which was set up by John Major's Government to examine standards in public life following the cash-for-questions scandal, said: "The Nolan Committee welcomes moves by the Government to take forward the work of the Law Commission and the Nolan Committee and the Home Office in tackling corruption."

And he added: "We will be publishing our report on local government within the next month and at the same time are likely to be making firm recommendations for a wider office of misconduct in public life."

The Home Office said that while the Government wanted to act as soon as possible, the packed legislative programme meant it was unlikely that a bill could be tabled before November of next year.

Home Secretary Jack Straw

The bill will close a loophole in the law dating back to the 1689 Bill of Rights which gives MPs immunity from public prosecution. Its measures are also expected to be extended to judges and local councillors.

The move follows Tony Blair's election campaign pledge to "clean up" politics in the wake of the cash-for-questions affair.

Shadow home secretary Michael Howard said the Opposition would support the measures if they viewed them as the right way to proceed.

He said: "The Conservative party agrees that new measures are needed to deal with corruption. That is why we published a range of options for changing the law before the General Election.

The prospect of legislation was welcomed by former Tory MP Neil Hamilton who is alleged to have taken payments from Harrods store boss Mohamed Al Fayed for tabling parliamentary questions - an allegation he strongly denies.

"So far as MPs might be put in a position where they can be accused of offences of this kind, I think it is vitally important that they get the right to a fair trial which everybody else has got," he said.

Independent Martin Bell, who unseated Mr Hamilton as MP for Tatton in the General Election after campaigning on an anti-corruption ticket, also backed the move.

He said it was "amazing" that MPs were beyond the reach of the criminal law for bribery offences committed in the course of their official duties.