News

The Guardian reports a former diplomat has blown the whistle on the Foreign Office claiming bureaucratic chaos, ministerial intervention, lack of planning and a short-hours culture in the department led to “people being left to die at the hands of the Taliban”. An internal inquiry was launched to investigate the evidence of Raphael Marshall when ... Read more

Our latest newsletter features news and blogs and details of our training including a free to attend webinar on the EU.  Many UK organisations still wishing to adopt the latest best practice in whistleblowing, or indeed firms operational across Europe, will be ensuring they are compliant with EU Whistleblowing Directive provisions – due to be … Read more

The Right of Women’s Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Legal Conference (November 19) brought together legal professionals, academics, charities and NGOs on the important subject of sexual harassment: how to tackle it in our workplaces and how to support victims.   Senior Adviser and Parliamentary Officer, Rhiannon Plimmer-Craig, attended the conference.  Empowering and insightful talks were given by Helen Mott, Eleena Misra, Suzanne McKie QC, Rehanz Azib and a lively ... Read more

Azeem Rafiq’s passionate revelations exposing his treatment at Yorkshire County Cricket Club serve as a testament to both the institutional problems proliferating the sport, (and undoubtedly other sports) and the necessity of being able to  raise concerns and have those concerns listened to, and addressed.    Rafiq’s concerns, which included as a young 15- year-old Muslim having wine forcibly poured down his throat, continuous ... Read more

A report by law firm Pinsent Masons has found whistleblower reports of national minimum wage violations fell to just 2,488 for the past year, down from 2,580 in the previous 12 months – and the lowest level in four years.   Pinsent Masons said that although extensive furlough in hospitality and retail sectors during the pandemic was partly responsible for the decline in ... Read more

Protect welcomes the findings of the Serota Review into editorial processes at the BBC which recognises the vital role whistleblowing plays in an organisation’s governance.    ‘The Serota Review – BBC editorial processes, governance, and culture’ commissioned by the BBC to learn from mistakes from the past, follows the Dyson report into the scandal around the Martin Bashir Panorama interview with Princess Diana. … Read more

A new report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life - “Upholding Public Standards” recognises the importance of high ethical standards to democracy and economic success.  Yet, as its polling reveals, public confidence in the conduct of Ministers is low. The Committee - which advises the PM on ethical standards, calls for central government reforms, including legislation to put ethics regulators and the codes that ... Read more

Our October newsletter includes blogs, why we are engaging with the Government on NDAs, why we think the Official Secrets Act needs reform to include a public interest defence and why we will be debating this with legal experts and academics next month and more….  

Mary Robinson MP, Chair for the APPG on Whistleblowing, called on the Prime Minister to review the UK whistleblowing law during PMQ.   She said, “The failings of Greater Manchester police, which have led to it being placed in special measures, are well documented, including the failure to record 80,000 crimes, including domestic violence and sexual offences, … Read more

On 2 November, Protect’s Head of Policy Andrew Pepper-Parsons, along with Kaeten Mistry Historian, University of East Anglia, and Anna Myers, Executive Director, Whistleblowing International Network, will be hosting a workshop on Civil Society, National Security, and Breaking Down Barriers for Public Interest Disclosures bringing together other legal professionals, journalists and academics with a keen interest … Read more

Protect hosted the first of two employer roundtables discussing what more can be done to protect whistleblowers against victimisation. A mixed group of employers from financial services, media, health, public sector and charity sectors came together to share best practice. The group discussed what victimisation ‘looks like’ with common forms of victimisation including impossible shift … Read more

Protect has been highly awarded by the Law Society Excellence in Law Awards 2021. The Awards, for ‘excellence in upholding the rule of law’ during the pandemic where our Advisers saw an unprecedented rise in calls – 20% – and were able to quickly move to remote working to support whistleblowers. Our report ‘The Best … Read more

Our latest newsletter has been published and includes our latest activity on our campaign, Let’s Fix UK Whistleblowing Law, blogs, whistleblower feedback, and details of how to book a place on our next Masterclass on 7 October Masterclass: Handling sexual harassment & whistleblowing concerns in the workplace aimed at senior individuals including HR, Compliance, Legal … Read more

Authorities in Monaco have issued a summons demanding whistleblower Jonathan Taylor appear before investigating judge Ludovic Leclerc, at the Palais de Justice, in Monaco, on 11 October “for examination”. Oil industry whistleblower Jonathan Taylor –  who blew the whistle on bribery by his former employers, SBM Offshore – returned to the UK in July after being arrested and … Read more

Ms L Kong who was Head of Financial Audit, made a number of protected whistleblowing disclosures over a new investment product her employer Gulf International Bank was offering to investors. She was concerned about the regulatory compliance of the investment product, which she detailed in a draft audit report sent to the Head of Legal at her company. Her concerns (which the Bank accepted constituted protected disclosures) … Read more

Protect Chief Executive Liz Gardiner welcomed almost 100 delegates to the third in our series of webinars to promote campaign Let’s Fix UK Whistleblowing Law which had the focus on duties and standards for employers. The panel: Rav Passi, whistleblower and Protect Trustee Marina Glasgow, Deputy Chief Conciliator, ACAS Sam Bereket, National Lead Intelligence & … Read more

Protect today publishes report, ‘Why we need a legal duty on employers‘ as part of ongoing campaign, ‘Let’s Fix UK Whistleblowing Law’ to reform the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The report highlights the key finding from YouGov research that UK workers – 76% – want to see all employers have whistleblowing standards in place and … Read more

Protect continues its series of webinars as part of campaign ‘Let’s Fix UK Whistleblowing Law’ and we are lining up a webinar on September 20 (10am-11am) entitled ‘Whistleblowing at work webinar – why the law needs to ask employers to do more’ to discuss and debate the need for a legal duty on employers around whistleblowing. Keep … Read more

Protect bids farewell this month to Legal Adviser, Burcak Dikmen, and Parliamentary Officer, Kyran Kanda, as well as Michael Szlesinger, who leaves after a six-month secondment from law firm Lewis Silkin LLP, and intern Millie Camp, who has supported Protect’s policy work over the summer. Burcak said, “Starting my legal career at Protect as a … Read more

Scandals in the meat industry make fairly frequent news.  Many consumers will recall the horse meat scandal in 2013 which found undeclared horse in beefburgers and lasagne and Mad Cow’s disease in the 1990s.  But today we still hear regular news stories of mislabelling and of out of date meat making its way onto consumer ... Read more

Record numbers of health care workers in the NHS are speaking up to NHS Freedom to Speak Up Guardians – over 20,000 cases in 2020/21 – but more are facing detriment for doing so. There are over 700 Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in NHS Trusts in England supporting healthcare workers to speak up about anything which impacts on their ability ... Read more

Protect is dismayed by the report, ‘Children in the care of Lambeth Council’, published by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The report makes damning findings against the council that it allowed serious abuse against children to take place between the 1960s and 1990s. The report finds that the council operated a “culture of ... Read more

Protect’s latest newsletter is now available to read, featuring news on Jonathan Taylor, blogs, our responses to Government consultations and updates from our Business Support Team and details of upcoming training courses. Read our July newsletter

Protect along with WIN (Whistleblowing International Network) have jointly responded to a government consultation on reforming the Official Secrets Act 1989. Our response states, “We have long held the view that the Official Secrets Act should contain a Public Interest Defence (PID) which is vital to the functioning of a democracy. Whistleblowing is necessary so ... Read more

New government plans to introduce a mandatory duty requiring employers to prevent harassment in the workplace have been welcomed by Protect. This duty will mean that employers must take all reasonable steps to protect employees from sexual and other forms of harassment at work. The government has also announced an intention to reintroduce protection against ... Read more

16 July 2021 Protect is concerned by reports that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have conducted raids of two houses in the South of England in relation to suspected data breaches following a story appearing in the Sun on the 26th June involving former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, breaching ... Read more

We are delighted to announce that on Wednesday 7 July 2021, Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Malenica formally rejected the request by Monaco to extradite UK whistleblower Jonathan Taylor. Jonathan Taylor’s Support Group extends its gratitude to the Minister for taking the right decision. The move comes following sustained calls for the past 11 months from ... Read more

Croatian Justice Minister Ivan Malenica has rejected attempts by Monaco to extradite UK whistleblower Jonathan Taylor on baseless criminal charges – and Jonathan Taylor’s Support Group thanks the Minister for doing the right thing.  The move comes following calls from human and civil rights campaigners across Europe – and UK MPs –  for his immediate release and safe ... Read more

Protect are pleased to hear the BMA, the recognised trade union and professional body for doctors and medical students in the UK, has settled its dispute with its member, Dr Chris Day, and now offering him full support – and legal funding in his ongoing legal disputes. Whistleblowing plays an absolutely essential role in the health ... Read more

Protect hosted a second webinar as part of our ongoing campaign, ‘Let’s Fix UK Whistleblowing Law’ – discussing why Non-Executive Directors, volunteers, job applicants and the self-employed should be protected by UK whistleblowing law. ‘Whistleblowing in the workplace - the haves and have nots’ welcomed keynote speaker Claire Gilham, District Judge and whistleblower whose landmark ... Read more

Protect is running a new Masterclass: Handling sexual harassment & whistleblowing concerns in the workplace aimed at senior individuals including HR, Compliance, Legal and Audit roles who are responsible for internal arrangements and whistleblowing culture. The session will include an overview of sexual harassment in the workplace and rights and duties in equality law, as ... Read more

On 25th June, Baroness Kramer’s Office of the Whistleblower (OWB) bill received its first full debate in the House of Lords. Protect supports the bill as it offers new and additional support for whistleblowers and you can read our previous comments here. The debate was well attended by members with cross party support in the ... Read more

Protect has been asked to join new whistleblowing research charity Parrhesia – which launched on on World Whistleblower Day – as a policy adviser. Parrhesia is focussed on the practice, protection, and promotion of whistleblowing in the UK by producing research to inform policymakers and practitioners alike. Parrhesia is led by Ian Foxley, the whistleblower … Read more

To mark World Whistleblowers Day – 23 June –  Protect partnered with Linklaters to host a free webinar for employers to highlight the importance of caring for staff who whistleblow, as we all know speaking up is not an easy thing to do. Protect Chief Executive Liz Gardiner welcomed almost 100 delegates from FTSE 100 … Read more

A week is a long time in politics, and six months is even longer. At Protect, we have been busy lobbying MPs and government officials to improve legal protections for whistleblowers as part of our campaign, 'Let's Fix UK Whistleblowing Law'. This is a snapshot of the work we have done over the first half ... Read more

Webinar: 29 June 5-6pm Non-Executive Directors, the self-employed, volunteers and job applicants are not protected by whistleblower protection – is it time to change? Join UK whistleblowing charity Protect in this latest webinar to debate why it is vital these groups who are key players in today’s workforce are protected by whistleblowing legislation. Protect will … Read more

Paul Scully, Minister for BEIS, (Business, Energy, Industrial Strategy) announced in Parliament (June 8) the creation of a single enforcement body to tackle exploitation of workers and abuse of labour rights. The proposed regulator will have responsibility for enforcing rights such as minimum wage, holiday and sick pay, and modern slavery.    Regulators play a ... Read more

A whistleblowing policy drafted for the judicial system has come under criticism for being drawn up in secret, and which will gag judges – not encourage them to speak up over wrongdoing. District Judge Claire Gilham, who won her Supreme Court Case in 2019 to give whistleblowing protection rights for the judiciary, (Protect intervened in … Read more

British whistleblower Jonathan Taylor has lifted the lid once again on corruption involving revenues emanating from the major British oil company BP, as reported in today’s Daily Telegraph. Extradition Fight Jonathan, a UK citizen, is currently fighting extradition to Monaco.  On arrival in Croatia on a family holiday in July 2020, he was initially detained … Read more

Protect has joined 40 legal experts, campaigners, academics and NGOs in  signing an open letter calling for the Croatian Justice Minister, Mr. Ivan Malenica, to halt the extradition of British whistleblower Jonathan Taylor. Jonathan exposed a series of multi-million pound bribes in the oil industry while working for one of Monaco’s major employers – oil … Read more