Britain falls to lowest-ever position in global corruption index

The United Kingdom has been given its worst ever score in a global corruption report. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perception of public sector corruption around the world, based on analyses of a variety of datasets conducted by experts and businesspeople. The CPI report surmises that Europe's high-ranking scores are being undermined by 'weak accountability and political corruption', which are causing people 'to lose trust in their institutions. As for the UK specifically, Transparency International said the scandal around awarding PPE contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic had contributed to the drop in score, as well as concern that 'both the UK government's anti-corruption champion and independent advisor on ministerial interests resigned'. 'The region's persistent challenges stem from decades of severe underfunding in public sectors, exacerbated by corruption and illicit financial flows siphoning resources away from basic public services,' the CPI report read.