Former Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) whistleblower, Josie Stewart has joined the whistleblowing charity Protect’s Advisory Council. With her expertise and commitment to exposing wrongdoing, Stewart is set to contribute significantly to the organisation’s mission of protecting whistleblowers and promoting transparency.
The Infected Blood Inquiry report has laid bare how thousands of people died unnecessarily through receiving infected blood that was supposed to save their lives, and how both the NHS and the Government frustrated justice for decades.
Josie decided to go to the media after a junior civil servant, Raphael Marshall, reached out to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee with evidence of Foreign Office failings. Feeling “humbled” that a junior colleague had been brave enough to speak out, Josie gave an anonymous interview and leaked emails to the BBC to corroborate what he had said. Like so many other whistleblowers, she paid a heavy price for speaking out
With more than half a million staff working in the civil service its vital to public accountability that Government departments are getting whistleblowing right – especially as they’re funded through the public purse. Following a critical report senior officials from the Cabinet Office, HMRC and DWP have reported back on how they’re improving their whistleblowing arrangments across the civil service.
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.
The National Audit Office, the independent public spending watchdog, reports that progress to improve whistleblowing in the civil service is slow and inconsistent. Much has already been written about how difficult it is for civil servants to raise concerns outside of their department but this new look at what is happening inside government is disappointing.
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.
