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 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.
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.
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.
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.
