Bribery Bill welcomed by UK defence industry

The defence and aerospace industries of the UK have welcomed the announcement of a proposed new law to fight bribery, but stressed that the government must engage with the sector.

Ian Godden, chief executive of national defence and security trade association, the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), said on 25 March: "The aerospace and defence industry in the UK is leading the way in promoting the adoption of ethical business practices and we welcome today's announcement of a draft Bribery Bill. The industry is working with Government and independent bodies such as Transparency International in combating corruption by establishing standards of behaviour and issuing guidance on how they can be implemented at all levels of the supply chain.

"It is vital that we engage with Government on the draft Bribery Bill as we are determined to demonstrate how far our industry has come and how we can help others learn from our work. Defence employs over 300,000 people across the regions of the UK. We are committed to demonstrating how they work lawfully in our world-leading sector and we also cannot allow our opponents to paint a false picture of us and risk these jobs."

The long-awaited draft bribery bill - raised in the Queen's speech in November 2008 - was put forward by Justice Secretary Jack Straw on 25 March.