Practitioners have welcomed government proposals to reform ‘antiquated’ bribery laws to create a framework of two general offences of giving and accepting bribes.

Justice secretary Jack Straw last week published a draft bribery bill, modelled on recommendations made in the Law Commission’s November 2008 Report, Reforming Bribery. It proposes a new consolidated law that will make it a criminal offence to offer or receive a bribe in the UK or abroad and increases the maximum sentence from seven to 10 years.

The draft bill introduces a new corporate liability offence of negligent failure to prevent bribery by people working on behalf of a business, and allows MPs and peers to be prosecuted. The requirement for the attorney general’s consent to prosecution is removed.

The legislation comes in response to criticism from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development over Britain’s failure to fulfil its international obligations.

Straw said: ‘Modernisation of the law is a priority to deal with those who offer or accept bribes.’

Monty Rapheal, joint head of the fraud and regulatory practice at London firm Peters & Peters, said reform is overdue as the law allows companies to escape prosecution. ‘It uses the antiquated principle/agent formula, which is based on a master/servant relationship that no longer exists,’ he said.

Rapheal said if the proposals become law business would be concerned about the negligent failure provisions.