Lord Nolan

Government To Get Tough On Bribes

The government has announced it's to review the relationship between parliament and the courts.

A joint committee of MPs and peers will look at the rules of parliamentary privilege, which allow MPs limited freedom of speech and from arrest. The government gave details of the review as it outlined its plans to make it an offence to bribe MPs.

Announcing the review the leader of the House of Commons, Ann Taylor said Parliamentary privilege could sometimes prevent the courts from looking at issues which ought to be scrutinised.

She said the law had recently been changed to allow the former MP, Neil Hamilton, to sue the Guardian newspaper over allegations of corruption; that and other changes had taken place without a fundamental review of how parliament's legal immunities operated alongside the courts.

A cross-party committee, drawn from both houses of parliament, would review parliamentary privileges, such as freedom of speech within parliament and MPs limited freedom from arrest. The committee will also consider government proposals announced today, to create a new law of corruption.

Home Secretary Jack Straw

The Home Secretary, Jack Straw, wants to see a single offence covering bribery in both the private sector and public life, which includes parliament. "The law on corruption does not astonishingly apply at the moment to members of Parliament." he said.

"There is great concern about sleaze amongst some members of Parliament, in the last Parliament. It's very important indeed that if we expect high standards amongst ordinary citizens in this country. They have to apply to members of Parliament as well."

Its chairman, Lord Nolan, said the confused state of the law was more of a problem than the current conduct of MPs.

"This is a very important area for clarification in the interests of members themselves and I do believe that the vast majority of members of the House are sick to death of being accused of feeling entirely interested in money grabbing and sleaze and that they would be the first to welcome a clear statement of the law."

Defining bribery won't be easy, but the government says that what it calls trifling advantages, such as small gratuities and Christmas presents, will not usually amount to corruption.