New Netflix show exemplifies the devastating effects of not listening to whistleblowers (Spoilers alert)
Another whistleblowing scandal has hit our screens with the new Netflix series ‘Toxic Town’, starring Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education and The White Lotus), and Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker. The show has been labelled the UK’s Erin Brockovich, as a group of women, spearheaded by Whittaker’s character Susan takes on their local council and the local steelworks following a pattern of birth defects in young children.
What happened in Corby?
Based on true events in the town of Corby in Northamptonshire, the programme documents the environmental scandal that affected a large group of women who were unknowingly exposed to toxic dust being transported through the town. The dust particles contained heavy metal cadmium which had previously been linked to birth defects in animals.
19 babies were born with limb differences between 1989 and 1998 – far above the national average of around two or three for a town of Corby’s size.
Who were the whistleblowers?
The character of Ted Jenkins is inspired by the real-life civil engineer Mark Bosence who worked for the council and oversaw the waste management of Corby’s Toxic Ponds. He began to grow concerned about the handling of the waste and filed numerous reports flagging health and safety concerns to his manager. After these were ignored, he was swiftly removed from the project. He further raised his worries with Sam Hagen who was on the council at the time, fearful that if he continued he would lose his job because of whistleblowing.
Mr Hagen, portrayed by Robert Carlyle in the drama, told a BBC documentary in 2020, “The council officer that blew the whistle told me that the safety regulations were not being observed. They were paying fast and loose with it, in order to do the job quicker and make money,”.
“And he decided as there was nothing he could do internally he had to tell somebody. Cos this lad knew that if he was known as the whistleblower he would lose his job. So he told me instead.”
Following that, a journalist at the Sunday Times, Graham Hind, started looking into things and talking to local people. His investigation in April 1999 exposed the scandal and shortly afterwards, lawyer Des Collins got in touch, and offered to represent the Corby mothers if they wanted to launch legal action against the council.
The legal battle
It took a full nine years for the case to make it to the courts. One of the biggest issues was a lack of evidence proving the council knew about the health risks and clean up process. It took a whistleblower leaking documents to overcome this hurdle and pave the way for justice.
Interviewed for a BBC documentary in 2020, Des Collins – portrayed in the Netflix production by actor Rory Kinnear – said, “We were scratching our heads one day when I came into the office and on my desk in a brown envelope was a lever arch file full of papers. It isn’t normal for secret documents to turn up – it is like something out of a John Grisham novel. You think people write this stuff and I quite like reading it, but it doesn’t happen in real life – but it did happen.”
It was this evidence and a report proving the abnormal rate of birth defects in the town that helped ensure the Corby mothers won the case.
The council was found liable for negligence, public nuisance and a breach of statutory duty; however, it continued to deny culpability and nobody has ever faced criminal proceedings. The mothers were awarded £14.6m and an apology for what they had been through.
Top Takeaways
In the most extreme of circumstances, the contribution of the whistleblowers was essential, eventually bringing the victims justice they deserved. Although speak up and whistleblowing cultures in local councils have significantly improved since the 90s its still an area that needs attention – and something authorities need to prioritise. Last year our own legal Advice Line received 132 calls from concerned members of staff from central and local governments across the UK. This story is as important as ever reminding us that whistleblowers spot harm and wrongdoing before anyone else, and when listened to can save lives.
The Netflix drama has reignited interest in the story with BBC Radio Northampton producing an eight-part documentary series called In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal, which is presented by 32-year old George Taylor, who was born in Corby in 1992 with a unilateral upper limb defect.