The government has finally launched its long-awaited anti-corruption strategy – more than two years in the making. Setting out the UK’s approach to tackling corruption it explicitly acknowledges the serious threat it poses to our national security and political system. Protect attended the launch as a key stakeholder, alongside other organisations working at the forefront of anti-corruption efforts.
The strategy recognises two vital elements that hold the key to reforming the UK’s whistleblowing framework. The first is that whistleblowers are the pipeline through which information on corruption flows. The second is that the UK’s whistleblowing system is broken and requires reform. Despite this recognition, the strategy offers very little by way of concrete action for the protection of whistleblowers and, unless this is remedied, we believe the UK’s ability to detect and expose corruption will be severely limited.
Recognition, but no roadmap
While acknowledging that whistleblowers are “one of the most effective assets in identifying wrongdoing”, it sidelines the central questions of how to improve protection when they speak up, and how to prevent retaliation in the first place.
There are no milestones in the strategy, or any commitments to whistleblower safeguards, only broad promises to “explore” reforms in 2027. It largely passes responsibility to the upcoming Fisher KC review, expected in 2026, and indicates it will “consider the findings” which will include “incentivisation of whistleblowers in economic reform”. Incentives are measures to encourage more disclosures, but there is no detail on any safeguards that should be included.
The lack of urgency to examine how the framework can better protect whistleblowers is a critical gap. More than two thirds of the whistleblowers that call our legal Advice Line tell us they face serious retaliation that affects their careers, finances and wellbeing. Beyond the personal impact, this creates a chilling factor that prevents many others from speaking out.
There were, however, some encouraging signs of the need for protection coming from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Emma Luxton, the SFO’s Director of Operations, stressed during the strategy’s launch that it is “important to put in place safeguards…we want to see some structure there to prevent retaliation”. While this recognition is important, it requires firm commitments by additional stakeholders – from government departments to regulators – translating into meaningful protection.
The government’s strategy signals an important shift: whistleblowing is no longer seen simply as a conflict at work, an HR matter, but as part of the national effort to restore integrity, accountability and trust. The next essential step is to build a system that keeps whistleblowers safe enough to speak up, so that corruption can be uncovered and those who speak out are properly protected.