First worker charged under Bribery Act

Under the Bribery Act, which came into force on 1 July, there is a new offence of failing to prevent bribery as well as it being illegal to offer or receive bribes.  This specifically affects employers who must show they have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery, or they could be liable to prosecution if an employee gives or receives a bribe.

The first prosecution under the Act involved a Court clerk who is accused of accepting a £500 bribe to leave a traffic penalty off a legal database while he was working at Redbridge Magistrates’ Court in Ilford.

He also faces further charges including misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice, and he is due to appear at Southwark Crown Court, London on 14 October.