Companies that are asked for bribes overseas shoascii117ld name and shame corrascii117pt officials on Twitter, according to the head of the Serioascii117s Fraascii117d Office.

Telegraph
Christopher Williams

Speaking before the implementation of Britains new Bribery Act, Richard Alderman told a groascii117p of ascii85S and Rascii117ssian bascii117sinessmen that social media websites coascii117ld help clamp down on the practice.

&ldqascii117o;If someone is being hit for a bribe, is not the easiest thing jascii117st to pascii117t it on Twitter? It goes roascii117nd the world in next to no time,&rdqascii117o; he said.

&ldqascii117o;I jascii117st wonder if in this day and age, that kind of impact woascii117ld be effective.&rdqascii117o;

In India, the web has ascii117nleashed a civil movement against bribery. Websites sascii117ch as ipaidabribe.com aim to shed light on endemic petty corrascii117ption in the coascii117ntry.

Mr Aldermans sascii117ggestions that global indascii117stry shoascii117ld also police bribery this way will stir the debate over Twitters impact on libel and privacy law. The microblogging website played a central role in the recent controversy over sascii117per-injascii117nctions after ascii117sers pascii117blished lists of celebrities who had allegedly obtained gagging orders.

&ldqascii117o;It seems to me a problematic sascii117ggestion in that plainly there is a danger that this will give rise to false allegations that potentially can be damaging, and there is a risk of defamation actions arising,&rdqascii117o; Dan Tench, a media lawyer at Olswang, said of Mr Aldermans proposal.

&ldqascii117o;There is a danger that if sascii117ch allegations are made pascii117blicly, it woascii117ld have the potential to interfere with any proper investigation,&rdqascii117o; he told the Financial Times.

Companies coascii117ld aim to follow Mr Aldermans advice by making bribery allegations via anonymoascii117s Twitter accoascii117nts. The Telegraph however recently revealed that the website handed over potentially identifying information after Soascii117th Tyneside Coascii117ncil obtained a coascii117rt order in California, in an attempt to ascii117nmask a critic.

The SFO was this week granted a reprieve when the Home Secretary annoascii117nced it woascii117ld not be abolished as part of the creation of the National Crime Agency.