A former magistrates' court clerk has become the first person to be sentenced under the UK Bribery Act, after he admitted accepting a £500 bribe to "get rid" of a speeding charge.

Munir Patel has been sentenced to six years in prison at Southwark Crown Court today (18 November) after last month pleading guilty to bribery and misconduct in public office during his employment as an administrative clerk at London's Redbridge Magistrates' Court.

He has been handed a three-year sentence under the Bribery Act and a six-year sentence for misconduct in public office. The two sentences will run concurrently, resulting in six years imprisonment.