Whistleblowing Blog | Protect - Speak up stop harm

Law Commission recommends reform of ‘outdated and unclear’ Misconduct in Public Office law

10th December 2020 by Alex Allen

A Law Commission report to ensure public officials are properly held to account for misconduct in their roles, has been published. The consultation examined the common law offence of Misconduct in Public Office, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but has never been put on the statute book by Parliament. The current law … Read more

Whistleblowing culture in central Government needs overhauling

30th November 2020 by Alex Allen

The inquiry into bullying allegations by Home Secretary Priti Patel has led to much disquiet in Whitehall with questions raised about the state of whistleblowing culture within central Government. The Home Secretary said she was not aware of allegations against her – this is troubling. The report is unclear whether no one felt able to speak ... Read more

Protect welcomes Sybille Raphael as new Legal Director

26th November 2020 by Alex Allen

Protect welcomes Sybille Raphael as its new Legal Director who will supervise our increasingly busy Advice Line - which has seen a 37% rise in calls this year - and co-ordinate our legal case work and policy work. Sybille, an experienced solicitor and employment law specialist, leaves her previous role as Head of Legal Advice ... Read more

Pressure on UK Government to intervene in Jonathan Taylor case

17th November 2020 by Alex Allen

Pressure on the UK Government to intervene in the case of whistleblower Jonathan Taylor - being held against his will in Croatia - continues. The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, (of which Protect is a part of) made up of whistleblowing, human rights and transparency organisations, and international jurists has written the following letter ... Read more

MPs debate whistleblower Jonathan Taylor in House of Commons & House of Lords

11th November 202010th November 2020 by Alex Allen

Important questions have been asked by MPs this week in the House of Commons and Peers in the House of Lords regarding whistleblower Jonathan Taylor, who is being held against his will in Croatia. Caroline Nokes – Jonathan’s local MP - asked the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs ‘what steps the ... Read more

Misidentified whistleblowers – falling through the cracks

10th November 20209th November 2020 by Alex Allen

Whistleblowing serves a vital public function. It ensures that public interest wrongdoing in the workplace is called out, resolved and protects not only workers and employers but the public at large. Whistleblowers like Jonathan Taylor[1], Chris Day[2] and Clare Gilham[3] have helped expose issues of international corruption, poor patient care and failures in the justice ... Read more

UK can intervene in Jonathan Taylor case – and should

29th October 202029th October 2020 by Alex Allen

The legal team for whistleblower Jonathan Taylor detained in Croatia and facing extradition to Monaco - on charges which have already been thrown out by the Monaco Correctional Court - is calling on the UK Government to intervene. This week the UK has again stated that it is unable to interfere in the Croatian and ... Read more

41% Whistleblowers’ Covid concerns – including public safety disclosures – ignored by employers

29th October 202029th October 2020 by Alex Allen

Research by Protect has found 41% employees with Covid-19 concerns were ignored by their employers and 20% of whistleblowers were dismissed for raising concerns. As the furlough leave scheme draws to an end, Protect’s report, The best warning system: Whistleblowing during Covid-19 demonstrates the role whistleblowers can play in revealing where employers are fraudulently claiming ... Read more

Protect participate in National Guardian SpeakUp #ABC – W is for whistleblowing

27th October 2020 by Alex Allen

Protect, as the UK’s whistleblowing charity, supports whistleblowers from all sectors who call our Advice Line for support. Many are health and care sector workers. We also work with organisations to help employers get whistleblowing at work right. Whistleblowers are doing their bit to speak up, but we’d like to see far more employers ‘wise ... Read more

International civil society and human rights groups call on Monaco to drop all charges against whistleblower Jonathan Taylor

26th October 202021st October 2020 by Alex Allen

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, (of which Protect is a part of) made up of whistleblowing, human rights and transparency organisations, and international jurists welcome the decision of the Supreme Court of Croatia to revoke the first-instance court decision, which allowed for the extradition of whistleblower, Jonathan Taylor to Monaco. While the case ... Read more