Blog

May 2023  It has been a long-time coming, but the Government have announced their plans to review the whistleblowing legal framework.  As our whistleblowing laws approach a quarter-century, this review is well overdue.    Whistleblowing review  The review has been under consideration since 2017, where it was promised as part of the Anti-Corruption Strategy with ... Read more

Fire and Rescue Services need to improve whistleblowing procedures to address cultural concerns The Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire commissioned an independent report on values and culture in the fire and rescue services (FRSs). The report findings are stark and shows that the FRS is falling short of the high standards which ... Read more

The Food Standards Agency (“FSA”) - a prescribed body for whistleblowers to raise health concerns in the food supply chain - has come under fire this week after fraudulent pork found its way to the shelves of almost all major UK supermarkets. An investigation conducted by Abi Kay from Farmer’s Weekly revealed longstanding and widespread ... Read more

In this blog Protect Legal Adviser Gabriel Radonich details the legal tests for media whistleblowing, and the challenges facing civil service whistleblowers. In December 2021, in the wake of the chaos surrounding the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Josie Stewart became a whistleblower. A senior official at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), she had ... Read more

Update on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill This month saw the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill debated in the Lords for it's Second Reading. The bill introduces new powers for Companies House, tightens up rules for Limited Partnerships and introduces new intelligence gathering powers for law enforcement.  It is a follow up ... Read more

Q: What is the Whistleblowing Scanner? The Whistleblowing Scanner is essentially an online assessment which helps your organisation see whether your whistleblowing arrangements are fit for purpose. It is aimed at organisations with 50 – 250 employees operating across all industries in the UK, EU and internationally. It is a fast and easy way for ... Read more

As of December 2022, Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are ‘Prescribed Persons’ This is a positive step to extend the scope of whistleblowing law in Scotland, and increase vital protections to whistleblowers. Protect are proud to be using our expertise in whistleblowing law to offer bespoke training to MSPs and their staff.  Over the course ... Read more

Everything you need to know about Ireland’s protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022 In April 2019, the EU Parliament passed an EU Directive on Whistleblowing (“the Directive”), to create a uniform standard of protection for whistleblowers across the Member States. Deputy Michael McGrath, Minister of Finance for Ireland, described the Directive as, ‘among the most far-reaching ... Read more

In this blog Protect Legal Adviser Phoebe Mather reflects on the National Security Bill’s journey through the House of Lords, explaining why it is so vital a public interest defence be added. Hot on the heels of failed attempts in the House of Commons to amend the National Security Bill to include a public interest ... Read more

Protect welcomes the new report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Leadership in Practice, as a helpful reminder that public sector organisations benefit from strong speak-up cultures and will reap the rewards of investing in high standards of behavior. We share the concern that crises in our public services often stem from failure ... Read more