David Lammy makes corruption vow as staggering information exhibits UK circumstances
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy says the UK will no longer be a haven for dirty money as he vowed to tackle a corrupt ‘army of enablers’ as a new strategy was unveiled
David Lammy has vowed the UK would no longer be a “haven for dirty money” as he pledged to clamp down on corruption.
The Deputy Prime Minister said illicit finance networks “spread across borders like a stain” – enabled by “an army of enablers” in the UK. He told an audience in the City of London: “The minority who succumb to bribes let more drugs and weapons onto our streets, leave more criminals on the loose and eat away at the public trust”.
He said the National Crime Agency (NCA) found over £100billion could be laundered through the UK every year, while British businesses faced 117,000 bribe offers domestically in the past 12 months.
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Unveiling the Government’s new anti-corruption strategy, which includes more than 100 measures, he said: “These networks spread across borders like a stain, dirty money slipping through shadowy shell companies, through luxury property, through the crypto assets of hostile states, organized crime groups and terrorist networks.
“And too often the trail leads back here to London, to a financial system admired across the world precisely because it is trusted. That trust in our security is now under attack, exploited by those Kremlin linked elites who enable Putin’s aggression.
“And we must be clear this city, this country, will no longer be their haven. We will stop them.”
The Government announced a specialist anti-corruption squad, the Domestic Corruption Unit (DCU), would be doubled in size with £15million extra funding in a nationwide blitz. There will also be tougher rules to stop corrupt officers from infiltrating frontline services – including new Border Force recruits forced to reveal previous criminal convictions.
Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said corruption risks the national security and added:“We will ensure the UK is a world leader in the fight against corruption, by ramping up policing efforts and introducing stronger safeguards to stop criminals infiltrating our institutions.”
Keir Starmer’s Anti-Corruption Champion, Baroness Hodge, will head a review into asset ownership in the UK to track the flow of cash and expose how criminals funnel dirty money into the UK.
She said:“This strategy will toughen the UK’s defences against dirty money and better equip us to go after those profiting from corruption and criminality. Our job now is to get on and implement it.”
