 Prior to the Act , British anti @-@ bribery law was based on the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 , the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and the Prevention of Corruption Act 1916 , a body of law described as " inconsistent , anachronistic and inadequate " . Following the Poulson affair in 1972 , the Salmon Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended updating and codifying these statutes , but the government of the time took no action . Similar suggestions were brought up in the first report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life established by John Major in 1994 , and the Home Office published a draft consultation paper in 1997 , discussing extending anti @-@ bribery and anti @-@ corruption law . This was followed by the Law Commission 's report Legislating the Criminal Code : Corruption in 1998 . The consultation paper and report coincided with mounting criticism from the Organisation for Economic Co @-@ operation and Development , who felt that , despite the United Kingdom 's ratification of the OECD Anti @-@ Bribery Convention , its bribery laws were inadequate . 
