I believe that people who step up to protect others from harm, save lives, and stop fraud and challenge discrimination deserve proper protection.
Organisations make appalling decisions, sweeping wrongdoing under the carpet and subjecting whistleblowing to unimaginable treatment.
It is my firm belief that the individuals responsible must be held accountable and punished. This will be the most impactful way of changing culture and incentivising right-doing.
Whistleblowing is not just an employment issue, it’s a public safety and national security issue, and no amount of compensation will tackle the underlying failure of the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
We need an Office of the Whistleblower to ensure that whistleblowers are protected and the whistleblowing investigated, and those responsible for wrongdoing prosecuted.
Why is 2025 such an important year for whistleblowing in the UK?
Since setting up WhistleblowersUK we have seen thousands of Whistleblowers go through hell while those responsible get away scot-free.
At the end of last year, Gareth Snell MP presented the Office of The Whistleblower Bill that’s set to receive its second reading in April. This is the sixth time that our Bill has been reported in Parliament and sooner or later it will be passed into law.
Failure is not an option. We only have to pick up a paper or turn on the TV to see why the UK is failing whistleblowers by failing to take action; Post Office Horizon, Grenfell, maternity hospitals, grooming gangs, cyber crime…
We don’t need fewer whistleblowers, we need more, and they need brave Parliamentarians, like Gareth, to stand up for them and give them rights.
Gareth Snell introduces the Whistleblowing Bill in the House of Commons
How can women, or any gender for that matter, help #AccelerateAction during March of the Whistleblowers?
Currently just over 51% of the cases in our postbag are from women almost 40% of them work in the NHS but fewer than 50% can afford legal assistance to bring a claim for their losses.
This means that families are suffering, and the NHS is suffering, because the Government has not recognised the importance of protecting these vulnerable citizens.
We need everyone to shout about the service and sacrifice that whistleblowers make. Ideally, by doing one or more of these three things:
Writing to their MP to ask for their support for the Office of the Whistleblower Bill. We’ve created a template people can use to make life easier.
Signing our petition. We want to show the people in power that the UK public wants to see better protection for those who speak up.
Encouraging others to sign it too. Why not ask your CEOs and senior leaders to get involved? Actions speak louder than words in a company’s whistleblowing policy.
That will make the article too long.
That’s a fair point. First has to me by grandmother, Winifred ‘Ann’ Willy. She devoted her life to fighting for women’s rights and imposed upon me the importance of charity or community and of voting – regardless of for whom.
She joined the Red Cross as a child, as did I, and inspired generations of children and women to stand up for those in need. To her death she was an active Red Cross Officer and stalwart of Oxfam. Of my many memories I will always see her on Weston Super Mare beach, at the lost children post, in her uniform, holding hands with crying children as I was allowed to hand out jelly babies!
I don’t hesitate to choose my dear friend Susan Kramer. We’re both strong, resilient women, but we are also only human, and when I need a shoulder it’s her.
What you don’t see on the TV when she’s speaking in the Lords Chamber is her warmth. She is practical and resilience, and her sense of humour is very special, the sort that only friends share. She is my rock and inspiration and has set the bar for what is possible with perseverance.
Susan is the ultimate Whistleblowing Champion to whom I am eternally in awe of, and grateful to, in equal measure for her support, wise counsel and mostly friendship.
Finally, Dr Jenny Vaughan, OBE, who the world lost to cancer last year.
Jenny was chair of The Doctors’ Association UK and campaigned tirelessly to improve justice within healthcare often for women including Dr Baba Gawa.
Jenny was tenacious, kind, brave, blunt, and a huge inspiration.
Losing someone who shared the same beliefs and values as me has been so hard, but I’m holding Jenny in my heart.
I want to leave a legacy that means future generations of women will have no fear when it comes to speaking up.
You’re a very busy woman, who never seems to stop. How do you unwind when you do get any time away from the world of whistleblowing?
It can be exhausting, but I’ve got a lovely, no the BEST, family and a gorgeous rescue Shitzu. In fact, I think he rescued us at a time that our family was under so much pressure due to my whistleblowing.
In my rare moments of spare time I love to travel, I love to paint, and spend time in the garden or clearing rubbish from the beach, give me thinking and breathing space.
