Rishi Sunak urged to fill UK anti-corruption post left vacant for a year

LONDON — Rishi Sunak has been urged to speed up the appointment of a new anti-corruption adviser after a year-long vacancy in the key government scrutiny role.

In a letter to the British prime minister shared with POLITICO, two former U.K. anti-corruption champions — whose role saw them hold ministerial feet to the fire on anti-graft plans — said domestic and international efforts to tackle corruption were being undermined by the continued empty post.

Conservative MP John Penrose, who quit the role last year with a blast at then-prime minister Boris Johnson’s ethics record, and Labour MP Hilary Benn both said the appointment was “vital” to keeping the anti-corruption agenda on track.

“We urge you to seize this moment and appoint a Champion at the earliest opportunity, so that Britain can continue being a leading example in the global fight against corruption,” the pair said in a joint letter.

In their letter, Benn and Penrose point to a flurry of official reports urging the U.K. government to tighten up existing lobbying and contracting rules.

They say filling the vacancy would “re-establish a vital pillar in the U.K’s anti-corruption arsenal” as legislation on cleaning up procurement and tackling economic crime makes its way through the U.K. parliament.

“Effective implementation of these key programs — along with the existing Boardman Review and Committee on Standards in Public Life recommendations relies on an active champion,” they urged.

The cross-party plea to Sunak comes after MPs and campaigners expressed concern over the delay, citing a recent study by Transparency International which found the U.K. had slipped to its lowest position in the NGO’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

The delay, the two men said, is already “limiting global opportunities for the U.K.,” with the lack of an anti-corruption rep during a recent OECD forum on the issue branded a “missed opportunity.”

Speaking last week, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said the British government was close to filling the role — the second such assurance made in recent months.

‘Draw a line under sleaze’

Speaking to POLITICO, Penrose said the U.K. could not continue “indefinitely” without an ACC.

“The machinery of Whitehall will roll on for a while on whatever track it was on before, but at some point, you need to have a course correction to make sure it stays on the right anti-corruption course,” he warned.

Sue Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, said it was time for Sunak — who promised to put “integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level” of his government — to “put his money where his mouth is.”

Filling the post would, she argued, “send a message that this is a genuine priority for his government, and that he plans to draw a line under the sleaze scandals of the past few years.”

That view was echoed by Duncan Hames, policy director at Transparency International UK, who said Sunak “needs someone working across the different departments with his explicit backing to broker agreement on ambitious plans to strengthen democratic institutions, confront enablers of corruption, and begin to restore the public’s trust.”