The former Veterans’ Minister Johnny Mercer has had his application to withhold the names of whistleblowers rejected by a public inquiry. Mr Mercer, the former Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, has repeatedly refused to name “multiple officers” who told him about alleged special forces murders in Afghanistan.
The whistleblowing charity, Protect, is proud to have supported the BBC Casualty production team in understanding the practicalities of whistleblowing law for the drama’s most recent storyline “Breaking Point”. The multi-episode storyline features a controversial documentary exposé including secretly leaked recorded footage and an internal witch hunt for the whistleblower responsible.
The Veterans’ Affairs Minister Johnny Mercer has confirmed he is challenging an order to name the source of his claims about alleged war crimes by British special forces in Afghanistan. He could face jail or a fine. At Protect we believe it is paramount that the identity of these whistleblowers are protected.
The findings of the Sexism in the City report come as no surprise. We hear everyday from whistleblowers reporting sexual and non-financial misconduct in the workplace whose employers are failing to address their concerns.
The whistleblowing charity Protect has been recognised as an accredited CPD (Continued Professional Development) provider for four of its instructor led training courses. With this quality of stamp of approval delegates to Protect’s training courses can attend training confident that they can develop and demonstrate their professional development enhancing their understanding and knowledge to help them make better decisions when receiving whistleblowing concerns.
In 2023, Protect significantly impacted the lives of thousands of whistleblowers by providing practical and legal advice on how to safely and effectively raise workplace concerns. The UK’s leading whistleblowing charity worked on 3047 total cases, a rise of 23% on 2022.
This is another damaging example of whistleblower concerns going unheard with devastating consequences. An effective speak up culture is essential for all organisations to catch problems before they escalate. This is all the more important in health settings where patient safety is at stake. But even more pressing is making sure there is an active listening culture to pick up concerns and ensure whistleblowers are recognised.
We welcome this National Audit Office report into whistleblowing in the civil service. The report notes that whistleblowers are key to good government and challenge is critical to holding organisations to account. Recent scandals, including Greensill and Partygate, showed that people inside government knew about wrongdoing but may have been afraid to come forward.
Your monthly whistleblowing news update. This month: McDonald’s faces up to two sex abuse claims a week, employment tribunal rules on parliamentary privilege challenge in foreign office whistle-blowing case and following Lucy Letby, 71% of doctors say whistleblowing damages careers.
Josie Stewart, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) whistleblower, who is bringing a claim that she was unfairly dismissed because she blew the whistle can’t rely on parts of her evidence because of Parliamentary Privilege.
