A CLERK at Redbridge Magistrates Court has been accused of accepting a bribe from a defendant.

Munir Patel, 21, of Green Lane, Dagenham, is also charged with misconduct in a public office and perverting the cause of justice.

Patel was arrested after The Sun filmed a man apparently accepting a £500 bribe to keep a traffic penalty off the legal database.

He will now appear at Southwark Crown Court, in south London, on October 14.

Patel is the first person to be charged under The Bribery Act 2011, which attempted simplify the legal definition of the offence.

Click here to follow the Wanstead and Woodford Guardian on Twitter