Justice secretary Jack Straw has told parliament that he is determined to ensure that the draft bribery bill becomes legislation before a general election. He was responding last week to a joint committee’s concerns about the parliamentary time available for the new measure, which would create two new offences.

Responding to concerns raised by committee chairman Viscount Colville of Culross, Straw said: ‘I am determined to get it [the bill] through before a general election. There is no reason why it should not be through by then. It is not a big bill.’ He called on the committee to come forward with suggestions for amendments ‘so we can consider them now’.

The draft bill takes up Law Commission recommendations to create offences of bribing a public official and negligently failing to prevent bribery by an employee or agent.

Straw told the committee: ‘This legislation will hopefully change behaviour. Success can be measured by prosecutions and convictions but you can also measure success by changing behaviour.’

He said that the definition of criminal behaviour should be obvious. ‘If you accept a financial or other advantage, are the bells not supposed to be ringing in your head? If an individual has accepted a financial advantage or reward then that is a starting point for a prosecution.’ The committee will report on the bill by 21 July.