A court clerk, who allegedly accepted £500 for fixing a motoring offence, has the dubious honour of becoming the first person to be charged under the U.K. Bribery Act. 

As reported in the Guardian newspaper, yesterday, Munir Yakub Patel has been charged under Section 2(1) of the Bribery Act, for allegedly: “Requesting and receiving a bribe intending to improperly perform his functions.” 

The Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) explained that it had decided to prosecute Patel, an administrative clerk, in relation to allegations of misconduct during his employment at Redbridge Magistrates Court, in Ilford, East London.  Gaon Hart, reviewing lawyer for the CPS Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division, said: “It is alleged that Patel promised an individual summonsed for a motoring offence that he could influence the course of criminal proceedings in exchange for £500, on 1 August 2011.”

Patel is due to appear before Southwark Crown Court, on 14 October 2011, to answer the charge.