Development agencies and Christian NGOs have welcomed the passing of anti-bribery legislation in the final days of business before the General Election last week.

Aid agencies including CAFOD and Tearfund said the Bribery Act sent an unequivocal message that bribery by British companies would not be tolerated at home or abroad.

"We know from our work in Africa, Asia and Latin America that it is the poorest and most vulnerable people who suffer the most as a result of bribery," says Laura Webster, Tearfund Head of Policy.

"The party which forms the next government must show a high-level commitment to use this legislation to stamp out bribery by UK companies."

The Act brings UK laws up to date by creating a new offence of bribing a foreign public officials and a corporate offence for companies that fail to prevent bribery.

"We believe that the UK has an obligation to ensure that companies based here do not contribute to corruption overseas through bribery, or other means," says Sonya Maldar, Policy Analyst for CAFOD.

"We welcome the Act as part of a commitment by the UK Government to tackling this issue and hope that the new government will enforce the new legislation without delay."

The agencies said the Act would go some way to restoring the UK’s international reputation, which they warned had been tarnished by government intervention to prevent the investigation into the BAE Systems-Al Yamamah military contract with Saudi Arabia, and past failure to bring UK laws into line with obligations under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

The agencies said it was critical that the legislation was implemented as soon as possible. Non statutory guidance for business is a requirement under the Act, which can be of practical value to companies as they bring their procedures in line with the new law. The agencies said the completion of guidance for companies must not be used to delay enforcement of this overdue piece of legislation.

George Boden from Global Witness said: "Bribery undermines transparency and effective governance, discourages foreign investment, wastes public money and puts essential services at risk."