Maintaining trust and confidence in public institutions, government decision-making, business and the rule of law will be crucial to managing the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring a successful recovery. As ordinary citizens are being asked to make extraordinary sacrifices in response to the public health crisis, transparency, openness and accountability are essential to ensuring this trust is maintained.
Transparency International UK is one of several leading anti-corruption non-governmental organisations working together as the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition. We urge the UK Government to take the steps outlined in the statement below. Doing so will support an emergency response that is effective, helps to maintain public confidence and lays the foundations for an inclusive economic recovery.
Corruption is frequently described as a ‘cancer’: a malign force which undermines societal development and security, but one that is amorphous and devoid of deliberate intent. In many contexts, this is an accurate depiction; in others, it does not tell the whole story. This is especially the case where corruption is used, consciously and intentionally, as an instrument of statecraft, to help achieve foreign policy goals.