Welcome to our September Newsletter

We’re proud to announce that “When We Speak” - a film we contributed to - about whistleblowers Katherine Gun, Helen Evans and Rose McGowan has received a Nomination for Best Documentary at Raindance Film Festival. “When We Speak” follows the stories of three women who risked everything to expose wrongdoing. Our Head of Advice, Bob Matheson, features as a key expert on whistleblowing law - and our senior legal adviser, Nneka Egbuji also shares experiences of the whistleblowers who call our free legal adviceline. If you are interested book your tickets to the UK film premiere on 2 November at 6:30pm here.

This month the new Prime Minister sets out her government’s plans. On the campaign trail, Liz Truss said she would “ensure that the correct apparatus is in place” for whistleblowers. We call on the government to deliver on this promise as a priority. We were pleased to receive a letter from the new BEIS Minister assuring us that the scoping of a much-delayed whistleblowing review is now underway. Elsewhere in Parliament, amendments to introduce a public interest defence to the Official Secrets Act have been tabled for consideration by the Bill Committee. You can read our Briefing in response to the amendments here. 

Interesting new research into the effects of rewards as an incentive for whistleblowers in USA suggests a conflict of interest in the system.  Alexander Platt of University of Kansas Law School demonstrates how much of the rewards paid out under the American system goes to private lawyers, and how influential those lawyers can be in ensuring concerns are heard. Another reason – if you need one – why a US bounty system would not be appropriate here. Read our new blog summarising the research here.

Finally, this month we welcome three new legal advisers on secondment - Michayel Villani and Annie Long both join us from Howard Kennedy, and Charlotte Earl from Baker McKenzie. We say farewell to Kate Austins who has now qualified as a solicitor after a secondment with Protect and welcome back Nneka Egbuji who completed her final training seat at Baker McKenzie in a swap with Kate. Thanks so much Kate and good luck!  

Whistleblowers Film Featuring Katherine Gun, Helen Evans and Rose McGowan Receives Nomination For Raindance Film Festival

“When We Speak”, which premieres on 2 November at 6:30pm at the Curzon, Soho, follows the incredible stories of the women who risked everything to expose injustices committed by some of the most powerful people on earth. Nominated for the prestigious Raindance Film Festival, the film is directed by Tas Brooker with involvement from Protect, the whistleblowing charity.

It follows the stories of Rose McGowan, Katharine Gun and Helen Evans who blew the whistle on the Weinstein, Iraq War and Oxfam scandals respectively. They share their motivations, experiences and the huge personal sacrifices they made to challenge injustice.

Protect was closely involved in the creation of this important film with director Tas Brooker. Our Head of Advice, Bob Matheson, features as a key expert on whistleblowing law – and our senior legal adviser, Nneka Egbuji also shares experiences of the whistleblowers who call our free legal adviceline.

Book your tickets here

Upcoming whistleblowing masterclasses

Masterclass: Whistleblowing and ESG 19 October 10AM - 12PM

Handling a Whistleblowing Concern 2 November 10AM - 12PM

Investigating a Whistleblowing Concern 9 November 10AM - 12PM

Preventing Whistleblower Victimisation 16 November 10AM - 12PM

Financial Services Whistleblowing Champions' Masterclass 11 January 2023 9:30AM - 12PM

Email business@protect-advice.org.uk for more info or book here

Protect Briefing on New Clause 6 – a Public Interest Defence to the Official Secrets Act 

Protect is delighted that Kevan Jones MP and others have recently suggested an amendment to the new National Security Bill (NSB 2022) and Official Secrets Act (OSA 1989) to include a Public Interest Defence.

Our only suggestion is that, if it was accepted, improvements should be made to the drafting to remove reference to ‘good faith’. Our concern is that including good faith as a factor when the courts determine whether the manner of a disclosure was in the public interest could result in many cases revolving around the motives and personality of the whistleblower rather than a discussion about whether the disclosure was in the public interest.

Read the full Protect Briefing here 

UK civil servants to have computers monitored to get people back to office

Whitehall civil servants will have their computers monitored in a bid to get people back to the office permanently post-Covid.

Andrew Pepper-Parsons, head of policy at charity Protect, said “monitoring of staff devices is unlikely to rebuild trust between civil servants and ministers” in the wake of partygate.

Read the full article from CityAM here

Sign up to Protect Membership pledge and show your commitment to a strong whistleblowing culture 

At Protect we aim to make whistleblowing work for workers, organisations and society. Becoming a Protect Member comes with a range of benefits for organisations to implement better speak up arrangements and create better working cultures.

By becoming a Protect Member, and signing up to the Pledge, you are actively demonstrating to your staff and stakeholders that you are committed to improving your speak up culture, and will ensure staff and managers are trained to raise and receive concerns.

Find out more here

NHS whistleblower Shyam Kumar wins case against regulator

A doctor who was sacked for raising patient safety concerns has won a case against England's hospital regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Orthopaedic surgeon Shyam Kumar worked part-time for the CQC as a special adviser on hospital inspections, but Manchester Employment Tribunal found that he was unfairly dismissed.

He had reported concerns regarding inadequate hospital inspections, staff bullying and serious patient harm.

The CQC "accepted the findings" and have since commissioned an independent review into its handling of the case. 

Mr Kumar, who has been awarded compensation, says his concerns were ignored.

Read the full article from the BBC here

'I caught my fraudster funeral director boss'

A whistle-blower has told the BBC how she confronted her fraudster boss over scamming dozens of vulnerable people out of their life savings.

Barry Stevenson-Hamilton was jailed for 33 months for tricking 49 customers into signing up for pre-paid funeral plans which did not exist.

The 40-year-old Fife funeral director failed to enter the money into trusts and pocketed £130,000 himself.

The scandal came to light when employee Sarah Yorke raised the alarm.

Read the full article from BBC here

What compensation will I get for damages from my whistleblowing claim? 

If you win your whistleblowing claim the employment tribunal will want to compensate you for your employer’s behaviour or the money you’ve lost. You should calculate how much compensation you could realistically get as early as possible. This will help you decide whether it is worth starting an employment tribunal claim. For example, if the total compensation you could realistically claim is less than the legal fees you might need to pay, then it may not be worth taking your claim to a full hearing.

Read more

Please help us to support more whistleblowers on our free, confidential, Advice Line.