December Newsletter

Dear ,

In this month’s edition,

Whistleblowing debated in detail during Hillsborough Bill Committee
Government’s Anti-Corruption strategy highlights vital role whistleblowers play in combating corruption
New Protect training dates announced

December has been a busy month at Protect: how to ensure whistleblowers are better protected has been the focus of debate in Government, Parliament and the Courts.

The Hillsborough Bill moved into Committee Stage where MPs for the first time scrutinised the bill line-by-line. The Hillsborough Bill-whose official name is the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – is a law that campaigner believe will prevent future state cover-ups by legally requiring public officials to be transparent and frank with public inquires and investigations.

Several MPs- from different parties- tabled amendments to improve the whistleblowing in the public sector showing cross-party support. The Government did not accept these changes but did commit to meeting MPs to discuss how whistleblowing could be better promoted in the public sector.

We also saw the launch of the Government’s long-awaited Anti-Corruption Strategy 2025. Two years in the making it sets out how the UK Government will confront the risk of corruption to our national security and political system. The strategy identifies whistleblowing as vital saying: "Whistleblowers are one of the most effective assets in identifying wrongdoing, as they often witness corrupt behaviour from the inside and can prevent further harm early." There’s also a welcome acknowledgement that whistleblowing protection is not working as intended, but the strategy is light on firm commitments to improve the situation.

Confirmation has come that the joint cases of Rice v Wicked Vision Ltd and Barton Turns v Treadwell have permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. The saga continues… the case raises complex points – as a very rough summary it looks at whether claiming and getting compensation for dismissal via the easier detriment route is open to employees. Protect was given permission to intervene as an independent third party by the Court of Appeal to provide the court with the policy background and evidence from our work with whistleblowers and employers on the ‘real-world’ consequences of their interpretation of the law. We hope to be able to be part of the Supreme Court hearing too.

And finally, we want to wish everyone who celebrates a very merry Christmas and happy New Year - thank you for all your support that has made 2025 another successful year supporting whistleblowers - see you in 2026!

Elizabeth Gardiner & Sybille Raphael
Protect Joint-Chief Executives

The Anti-Corruption Strategy: Welcome Signals, But Insufficient Action

The Government has finally launched its long-awaited Anti-Corruption Strategy— more than two years in the making. The Strategy sets out the UK’s approach to tackling corruption and explicitly acknowledges the serious threat it poses to our national security and political system. Protect was invited to attend the launch as a key stakeholder, alongside other organisations working at the forefront of anti-corruption efforts.

The Strategy recognises two vital elements that hold the key to reforming the UK’s whistleblowing framework. The first is that whistleblowers are the pipeline through which information on corruption flows. The second is that the UK’s whistleblowing system requires reform. Despite this recognition, the Strategy offers very little by way of concrete action for the protection of whistleblowers and, unless this is remedied, the UK’s ability to detect and expose corruption will be severely limited.

Read our blog

The Hillsborough Bill

This month MPs examined the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – better known as the Hillsborough Law- in more detail, in fact line-by-line in committee.

To recap the bill aims- in response to scandals such as Hillsborough, Infected Blood, Post Office Horizon IT scandal - to prevent future state cover-ups and will introduce a new duty on public authorities and public officials to act with candour, transparency and frankness; and bring in a new offence of misleading the public. Part of the bill will require public sector bodies to have a whistleblowing policy within ethics code for their staff.

It was pleasing that MPs on the committee recognised the vital role whistleblowing plays in tackling the defensive culture that led to justice being denied to so many victims and their families, by enabling wrongdoing to be raised and addressed at an earlier stage. We saw amendments proposing an expectation within new ethical codes that public sector employers will investigate whistleblowing concerns and for public sector employers to have policies and procedures that proactively protect whistleblowers from retaliation. While the Government in response did not accept the need for the amendments in the bill on the basis it would cut across too distinct organisations in the public sector, they were willing to discuss with MPs how best to promote effective whistleblowing arrangements among public sector employers.

Discussions are ongoing so watch this space!

2026 training dates

Our 2026 training dates are out! Built to help organisations strengthen trust, integrity, and psychological safety in the workplace. Developed with real-world insight from our legal experts, our training programmes goes beyond compliance - exploring what speaking up really means in today’s evolving workplace. Some of our CPD-accredited courses include:

Whistleblowing Essentials
Investigating a Whistleblowing Concern
Preventing Whistleblower Victimisation
and specialist masterclasses

Protect offers Membership to organisations which comes with many benefits including access to our Members’ Forums which is held all year round, providing updates and insights. Next year's dates include:

04/03/2026
03/06/2026
23/09/2026

Book your place today

MPs sitting and debating in the House of Commons, many suited men sitting on green benches

As 2025 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on another impactful year at Protect - one marked by thousands of individuals seeking our advice, legislative progress in Parliament, new research shaping the national conversation, and continued work with employers to strengthen speak-up cultures across every sector. Whether supporting nearly 3,500 new callers through our free Advice Line, delivering training to up to a thousand professionals, or campaign for better whistleblowing protection in the Employment Rights Bill, our focus has remained constant: making speaking up safer, clearer, and more effective for everyone.

Take a look back on 2025 with us in our latest blog.