Lammy says the government will make the UK ‘a hostile environment for the corrupt’
The government has named peer Baroness Margaret Hodge as the new anti-corruption champion, vowing that it will make the country ‘a hostile environment for the corrupt’.
Yesterday, the foreign secretary also announced that the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) International Corruption Unit will receive up to £36 million in new funding over the next five years.
The government has also introduced additional sanctions aimed at combating illicit financial flows, with a particular emphasis on tackling the illegal gold trade.
The foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “This government will make the UK a hostile environment for the corrupt and their ill-gotten gains as we put national security as a foundation of our Plan for Change and decade of national renewal”.
The former MP for Barking chaired the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) from 2010 to 2015. As co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, she pushed for legal reforms requiring overseas territories to create public registers of beneficial ownership.
She also criticised the HMRC for how it handled tax avoidance, after PAC carried out an inquiry in 2013.
In 2015, Hodge faced heavy criticism after an investigation by The Times found that she had received more than £1.5 million in shares from Stemcor, a steel trading and distribution company set up by her father and registered in the tax haven of Liechtenstein.
In a recent debate on political donations in the Lords, Hodge said “it is vital that the new government take every step to clean up our politics”, arguing that for all political donations over £200, the identity of the donor should be known.
Hodge also proposed banning all foreign donations to cut off the infiltration of Russia and China into the UK and strengthening the remit and powers of the Electoral Commission to ensure the legitimacy of donations.
Anti-corruption organisations including Transparency International and Spotlight on Corruption have welcomed Hodge’s appointment, which comes after the position remained vacant for two and a half years following former Tory MP John Penrose’s resignation in June 2022.
Duncan Hames, Director of Policy and Programmes at Transparency International UK, said:
“A tireless campaigner against corruption and advocate for reforms to restore integrity in politics, Baroness Hodge is uniquely positioned to drive forward the government’s ambition to make the UK the anti-corruption capital of the world.”
Hames added: “Holding government departments to account on their anti-corruption commitments and demanding the highest standards of government itself will be essential if she is to restore confidence in this vital work.
Dr Susan Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption, said: “It’s brilliant to see a heavy-hitting campaigner like Baroness Hodge appointed as Anti-Corruption Champion.
Hawley added: “It’s also very encouraging indeed to see a new focus by the government on beefing up anti-corruption enforcement and imposing anti-corruption sanctions”.
“As our research has highlighted, aid funding for law enforcement is critical to provide ring-fenced resourcing and needs to be long-term and sustainable. This new money is a potential game-changer. It is essential that the Home Office now gets on with tackling the NCA’s acute recruitment and retention challenges so that the ICU can build up and keep specialist expertise.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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