UK sinks to new low in global corruption index

The CPI ranks 182 countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The UK has now slipped to 70, with revelations from the Epstein files attributed to the slide in the rankings.

Also accounting for the decline, Transparency International pointed to concerns surrounding the two main political parties that contested the 2024 general election.

The UK has been gradually dropping since 2015, falling from the seventh-placed country to 20th in 2025, down from 71 in last year’s report.

Transparency International said record levels of campaign spending had “supercharged” dependence on wealthy donors, noting that the Conservatives accepted £15m from a single individual in under a year.

This was understood to refer to donations from businessman Frank Hester, which triggered calls for the party to return the money after the Guardian reported that its largest donor had made racist and sexist remarks.

Transparency International also cited reports that the world’s richest individual, Elon Musk, had considered making a £73m donation to Reform UK.

Labour was also criticised after it emerged that its biggest donor, Waheed Alli, had been granted a privileged pass to No 10 as well as lucrative gifts.

The report further highlighted concerns over political appointments being awarded to party donors.

The UK is likely to remain “mired in scandal” this year, Transparency International warned, due to the relationshop between the former Lord Peter Mandelson and paodophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The latest release of the so-called Epstein Files by the US government detailed Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted sex offender, including email exchanges about fiscal policy during the 2008 financial crash.

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“This persistent decline is not a temporary blip – it risks becoming a defining feature of our political culture,” said Daniel Bruce, the chief executive of Transparency International UK.

“The UK government must demonstrate that it is serious about restoring integrity. That means taking bold action to remove big money from politics, delivering genuinely open government, and ending the cronyism that undermines public trust in our institutions.”