The Football Association is one of several bodies celebrating the introduction of the new Bribery Act which became law today, 1st July 2011. Recognising the immense influence of a substantial bribe falling into the right hands at the right time, the new Act provides a legal framework for many current practices in business, politics and sport.
“Until now, we have had no clear guidelines on how to win the right to stage a World Cup, for example,” a spokesman said. “This new Act defines the who, where and how much to bribe. At last, we can compete with other nations on a level football pitch.”
Ken Clarke, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, explained that the Government had decided against an ‘Anti-Bribery Act’ in the face of strong opposition from a series of influential individuals, not to mention the chance of making MPs a few quid. “Once we had established a clear direction, we were very keen to make this Act become law and every effort was made to speed its progress through the law-making process,” he said.
The Bribery Act is set to be the first in a line of changes to the law where the prefix ‘anti-‘ may have been used in previous legislature. “We intend to introduce a Racism Act, A Sexism Act and a Smoking Act,” explained Mr Clarke. “And now the Bribery Act is law, supporters of these proposed laws know what they have to do to make them happen.”