UK summit will ‘turn the tide’ on worldwide corruption, says Foreign Secretary
The summit will bring together governments, businesses and campaigners to agree “tough international action” to combat corrupt practices
The UK will “turn the tide” on illicit finance at a landmark anti-corruption summit in London next year, the Foreign Secretary has said.
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Yvette Cooper confirmed on Sunday that Britain would host the summit at Lancaster House on June 23-24 2026.
The summit, first promised by her predecessor David Lammy, will bring together governments, businesses and campaigners to agree “tough international action” to combat corrupt practices.
Ms Cooper said the summit would target illicit gold used to fund the war in Ukraine; property used by criminals to hide their cash; and cryptocurrency, which she said was “increasingly exploited by people smugglers”.
Arguing that “dirty money fuels crime on the streets of the UK and drives conflict and instability overseas”, she said the Government was “committed to turning the tide” on corruption.
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The summit will take place 10 years since then-prime minister David Cameron hosted a similar meeting in May 2016.
Campaigners praised that summit for the strength of the commitments offered by the international community, but called for more action in other areas, including in Britain’s Overseas Territories and among professional services firms.
Ms Cooper’s announcement comes as the Government prepares to launch its anti-corruption strategy on Monday with a speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Mr Lammy.
The UK’s previous anti-corruption strategy ended in 2022 and has not been replaced.
Anti-corruption campaigners had called for a new strategy to be implemented within six months of the last election.
Although the Labour Government has taken more than a year to develop a strategy, it did appoint Baroness Margaret Hodge as anti-corruption commissioner – the first person to hold the role since 2022 – and announced more funding for the National Crime Agency’s anti-corruption work.
Monday’s strategy launch will include a £3 million investment by the Foreign Office to support investigative journalists working to expose corruption.
The money will help fund the work of Transparency International, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective.