In the News
Once a month we update this digest of stories from the national and international media on whistleblowing developments.
Whistleblower prompts HSA investigation
Following concerns raised by residents and Stephen Griffin, an environmental consultant appointed to oversee the removal of waste at Haulbowline island in Cork, inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) have asked the government for copies of environmental reports which outline the type of toxic waste buried and the threat it poses. HSA inspectors have visited the former steel works and asked council officials to erect fencing around certain areas for safety.
The Times, 12 July 2008
Jersey review recommends whistleblowing policy
UK social work expert Andrew Williamson, who was commissioned by the Jersey government to undertake the review last August, said children's homes were safe but recommended the creation of a children's minister for the island and external scrutiny of services. He recommended a whistleblowing policy for staff “to be able to voice concerns without fearing instant rebuttal or challenges of malpractice”, saying that many felt unsupported when facing difficulties. Jersey ministers have stated that they were “firmly committed” to implementing the recommendations as soon as possible.
Community care, 7 July 2008
Radio firm fined record £1.11m for phone-in scam
A radio station has been given a record fine by Ofcom after a whistleblower revealed a phone-in scam that involved deliberately selecting contestants with the wrong answers to prolong the competition for commercial gain. Ofcom noted that the fine would have been less if the group had cooperated with Ofcom from the outset by disclosing all the facts instead of hindering the investigation.
The Guardian, 27 June 2008
Portsmouth medic lied on cremation forms and netted cash
A GP has blown the whistle on an anesthetist who he had caught fraudulently signing off crematorium forms without checking with the patients' GP who had cared for them before they died. The GP had previously written to the anesthetist about the issue stressing the importance of filling out the forms correctly after Dr Harold Shipman signed off death certificates for people he had murdered. The GMC has given the anesthetist a three-year conditions of practice order banning him from filling in any more cremation forms.
Portsmouth News, 13 June 2008
In Shift for Japan, Salarymen Blow the Whistle
Workers who have blown the whistle on a number of recent scandals that have shaken Japan have revealed a shift in culture from traditional corporate loyalty to a culture where workers are increasingly willing to speak up about wrongdoing in the public interest.
The New York Times, 7 June 2008
Whistle blown on overspend at Northern Ireland Events Company
Two whistleblowers prompted Ireland 's department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to call in external auditors to establish why there had been an overspend of £1.6m of public money by the Northern Ireland Events Company (NIEC). Under question in parliament ( Northern Ireland Assembly debates, Ministerial statement, 3 June 2008) Culture Minister for Ireland , Edwin Poots stated that the deficit had occurred because of a "fundamental breakdown of controls and procedures" at a number of levels.
The Belfast Telegraph, 4 June 2008
Special Met unit to root out corrupt prison staff
A new "ghost squad" will target "rogue" officers in an attempt to stem the "apparently limitless" supply of drugs and mobile phones within prisons. This initiative follows the suspension of 14 guards after an officer blew the whistle alleging that colleagues had planned escapes, supplied and taken drugs and smuggled a gun into a prisoner's cell.
The Telegraph, 27 May 2008
Moody's error gave top ratings to debt products
Some senior staff knew as early 2007 that Moody's had incorrectly awarded triple A ratings to a complex debt product worth billions of dollars due to a bug in its computer models. However, Moody's did not downgrade the product to its correct rating until January 2008 when it gave other reasons for the downgrading.
The Financial Times, 21 May 2008
Care home boss jailed after 'wilful neglect' killed Alzheimer's patient
A former care home manager has pleaded guilty to wilful neglect of a patient. Staff were advised by a GP to contact him should the patient deteriorate further, however his advice was ignored and the patient later died. The coroner was so concerned that he contacted the police. The judge, Mr Justice Stephen Irwin, said: "Those who profit from and manage residential homes for the vulnerable, the old or the sick – [that's] where the buck stops…those who are wilfully negligent with serious consequences should expect to go to prison. That is the message which should go out today."
The Telegraph, 21 May 2008
'Whistleblower' doctor enlisted to assist Australian government
In Australia, a doctor who wrote an open letter to expose problems in Queensland public hospital emergency wards will become an adviser to Premier Anna Bligh.
The Sunday Mail (Australia), 18 May 2008
Whistleblower's witness awarded £43k damages
A Wakefield prison officer who appeared as a witness in a whistleblowing case has been awarded £43,875 by an employment tribunal. The award included £22,500 to cover "injury to feelings" as well as £10,000 for "aggravated damages". Her solicitor stated "The tribunal's award is one of the highest possible for a claim of this kind, highlighting the extent of discrimination that Ms Howie suffered because of her decision to speak up about wrongdoing in the prison.”
BBC News, 14 May 2008
Whistleblower accuses UNDP over Somalia projects
A former employee of the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) has accused the agency of dismissing him for blowing the whistle on corruption in its operations in Somalia. A UNDP spokesman said "Clearly UNDP takes all these allegations extremely seriously and we are in fact investigating them thoroughly." For more information please visit the Government Accountability Project's website.
Reuters, South Africa , 14 May 2008
ITV to pay record fine for prime time phone-ins
Ofcom has fined ITV £5.7m for “seriously and repeatedly misleading its audience”. Ofcom's findings detail a picture of “omnipotent” senior producers wielding “unfettered power” and making sure junior staff who raised the issue were “firmly sat upon”. Ofcom said the fine would have been higher had the network not commissioned its own investigation from Deloitte (which was assisted by internal whistleblowers) , apologized and undertaken a wide-ranging overhaul of its procedures and promised to repay the £7.8m wasted by viewers.
The Guardian, 9 May 2008
Data freedom ruling to affect lobbying
Meetings between ministers and lobbyists will be exposed to greater transparency following a landmark ruling in a three-year freedom of information battle. The judgment is a victory for Friends of the Earth, which sought to see records of meetings between the CBI, employers' group EEF and the old Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The Financial Times, 1 May 2008
Leading executives quit in Samsung upheaval
Four top Samsung executives, including the chairman, have resigned after a year of allegations of financial wrongdoing and the chairman's indictment for tax evasion and breach of trust. Investigations began when Samsung's former chief lawyer made allegations of widespread financial impropriety “becoming Korea 's first whistleblower”.
The Financial Times, 22 April 2008
Ofgem probes Npower over mis-selling claims
Ofgem has launched an investigation into Npower following “allegations of mis-selling energy contracts to customers”. In February this year an unnamed Npower sales rep spoke to the media about salesman door to door tactics.
The Times, 22 April 2008
£70,000 for teacher who blew whistle on cover up
Colin Cook, a teacher who blew the whistle to Edexcel exam board on an alleged cover up of pupils cheating in exams has won his claim for unfair dismissal. During the course of the hearing the tribunal also heard that after Mr Cook had been sacked he discovered that the school used Arabic textbooks that referred to Jews as "repugnant" and that all religions other than Islam were worthless. The school has denied ever teaching any form of racial hatred and has insisted that the books were “misinterpreted” and not used in class.
The Times, 15 April 2008
Whistleblowing your way out of redundancy
Whistleblowers who are unfairly made redundant can command unlimited payouts in compensation. Unsurprisingly perhaps, lawyers say whistleblowing claims are suddenly all the rage in banking.
Efinancial, 15 April 2008
NHS staff say more errors and near misses reported
More staff say that incidents were reported, according to the Healthcare Commission's survey of NHS staff: The number of staff who said they or a colleague had reported the last error they saw improved, up from 92% in 2005 to 94% in 2007. When asked whether they thought their trust treated people fairly when they reported an error or incident, 41% agreed or strongly agreed, 6% disagreed or strongly disagreed and 54% had no opinion. When asked whether they thought their trust takes action to ensure incidents don't happen again, 50% agreed or strongly agreed. Click here for the full report
The Healthcare Commission, 9 April 2008
Whistleblower reveals £30m antiques scam
A leading furniture restorer has revealed that he has recently discovered that revamped replica pieces produced by his workshop have been sold as original antiques by auction houses.
The Sunday Times, 6 April 2008
Wider powers for the FSA to grant immunity to city cheats
The Treasury has indicated their willingness to grant the FSA powers to offer immunity from prosecution or plea bargains to criminals and insider dealers in return for information on market manipulation. (This story was inaccurately covered as being about whistleblower protection in some media outlets).
The Financial Times, 28 March 2008
Breast cancer shame
A General Medical Council hearing in Manchester ruled that a doctor “clearly put patients at risk and demonstrated serious and persistent failures” in checking women for breast cancer. The alarm was sounded (Manchester Evening News, 19 March 2008) by a senior radiographer at Trafford General Hospital. She reported her concerns to managers after scans she had checked showed that 2 out of 8 patients who had been given the all clear in fact had cancer. Inquiries found 22 women in all had been misdiagnosed. The doctor has been suspended on £75,000 a year since 2005.
Manchester Evening News, 27 March 2008
South African whistleblower is given his job back
A prison officer has been reinstated in his job after being sacked a year ago for speaking to the media about the movement of prisoners without proper consultation.
Daily Dispatch, 26 March 2008
1 in 3 construction workers worried about speaking out
A survey by the British Safety Council found that construction workers were most at risk from the UK’s poor safety culture. 1 in 3 construction workers said that they “would think carefully before speaking out about safety”. BSC’s chief executive commented “health and safety in the workplace saves lives and families. Companies need to see this as a priority and also as an investment.”
The Financial Times, 25 March 2008
Air passengers’ safety ‘at risk’
The BBC has been shown a confidential report prepared by a senior air traffic controller on the operations at Heathrow. The author says that pressure to maximize landings at Heathrow is increasing the risk to safety. NATS insist that safety remains their top priority.
BBC, 20 March 2008
Ireland to protect whistleblowers
The Irish Government is proposing wide ranging new employment legislation which will include whistleblower protection for employees who report suspected breaches of the law.
The Irish Times, 18 March 2008
Cult blogger Civil Serf identified and suspended from Whitehall
An internet blogger who published derisive accounts of life as a civil servant at the heart of the Brown Government has been identified and suspended.
The Daily Mail, 15 March 2008
New garda whistleblower service
Justice Minister Brian Lenihan has announced the establishment of a new whistleblower system in the Irish police force to root out corruption.
The Irish Times, 11 March 2008
Reckitt Benckiser accused of ripping off NHS
A whistleblower at Reckitt Benckiser has revealed the tactics behind the drug company’s maintenance of a monopoly in the supply of Gaviscon. The former senior executive disclosed internal emails showing that Reckitt had brazenly played the system to maximize profits from the NHS by thwarting the case for cheaper generic product. Reckitt Benckiser has stated that it is shocked by the inappropriate sentiments contained in leaked internal correspondence and has instigated an investigation.
The Times, 7 March 2008
Bank drops lawsuit against Wikileaks
The Swiss bank pursuing legal action in the US against whistleblowing website Wikileaks has dropped its lawsuit days after a judge reversed a decision to shut down the website for publishing leaked documents.
The Guardian, 6 March 2008
OFSTED inspector blows the whistle on standards to the BBC
An OFSTED inspector spoke to the BBC about her concerns on the standards of OFSTED inspections, prompting an undercover BBC investigation into nurseries.
BBC, 5 March 2008
Doctor blows whistle on serial killer
A court and police have praised Dr Emma Ward, who questioned an insulin dose given to one victim of senior nurse Colin Norris, triggering the police investigation. The judge commented that Norris’s campaign of killing “would, no doubt, have continued had not experienced medical staff been alerted to what was happening.”
The Guardian, 5 March 2008
MEP makes ‘fraud’ public
Whistleblower and Dutch MEP Paul van Buitenen has placed on his website a summary of a confidential report on abuse of staff allowances in the European Parliament. This followed the leaking of details from the report by UK MEP Chris Davies. As a result of the publication some MEPs have called again for the report to be published after MEPs voted against publication (The Times, February 27 2008) of the report on 26 February and criticized Chris Davies for going to the press.
The BBC, 5 March 2008
Care worker tells of children ‘frozen with fear’
Christine Bowker, who was a volunteer worker at the Haut de la Garenne care home in the early 1970s, said she eventually left because of the conduct of some members of staff but was met by a “wall of silence” when she voiced her concerns.
The Independent, 3 March 2008
‘Culture of concealment’ divides Jersey as abuse scandal grows
The Sunday Times summarizes the emerging information supporting the allegations of child abuse at Haut de la Guarenne, Jersey, including the reactions and recollections of those that could have known of the alleged abuse.
The Sunday Times, 2 March 2008
UK regulators offer whistleblowers rewards
The Office of Fair Trading is to offer whistleblowers up to £100,000 for accurate information and has set up a hotline for whistleblowers to inform on illegal cartels. This follows reports that the Revenue (The Times, 26 February 2008) paid £100,000 for information on a DVD detailing UK citizens who may have been evading tax by placing funds in Liechtenstein. Click here for our views on rewards for whistleblowers.
The Times, 29 February 2008
Whistleblower wins dismissal case over scam
A Leeds employment tribunal has ruled that Roy Cole, former commercial manager of drinks wholesaler, Tate-Smith Ltd, was unfairly dismissed for raising his concerns in a report to his chairman that the chairman’s son, the managing director, was attaching fake “best before” labels to kegs of beer. Trading standards chiefs say they have obligations to launch an investigation into the scam and the company may be prosecuted.
The Press, 23 February 2008
Alerts over SocGen’s rogue trader ‘were not followed up’
The investigation committee, set up by SocGen to look into the rogue trader scandal and chaired by Jean-Martin Folz, the former chairman of Peugeot Citroën, has concluded that there were dozens of alerts about Mr Kerviel in 2007. Although controllers questioned Kerviel each time, they failed to check whether he was telling the truth or report suspicions to managers. Mr Folz said: “Operators did not . . . have the reaction to inform their superiors or those in the front office of the appearance of anomalies even of very high sums if that did not figure precisely in the procedures.”
The Times, 21 February 2008
Sarbox protection for overseas whistle-blowers
A landmark court ruling has established that employees of American companies working outside the US can rely on domestic whistleblowing protection laws.
The Times, 15 February 2008
A report into the murder of 54 day old baby, Jessica Randal, by the Local Safeguarding Children Board for Northamptonshire has found that doctors and social workers failed to trigger protection measures even though a number of concerns were raised about her safety. Staff at Kettering General Hospital are undergoing retraining on awareness of what should trigger off making a referral of a child that they are concerned may be at risk.
The Daily Mail, 14 February 2008
Matron given nursing home ban
Michelle Bache, a senior nurse, has been banned from working for two years after admitting to a number of allegations including leaving residents alone to have water fights with other nursing staff. Bache was sacked from Bodawen Nursing Home in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, in December 2004 after two care-workers raised their concerns with the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales .
ic Wales , 12 February 2008
Large Roche orders aroused suspicion
It has emerged that concerns were raised by staff at Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, as early as 2002 regarding large orders of the slimming product, Xenical, by a chain of private diet clinics. Staff were concerned that the orders exceeded the demand of prescriptions and were being supplied to a “grey market”. Roche maintains that it was “the victim of criminal activity”.
The Financial Times, 8 February 2008
French doctors on trial for CJD deaths
Seven doctors and pharmacists are on trial over the deaths of more than 100 people from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which occurred years after the victims were treated, while still children, with tainted human-growth hormones. The doctors and administrators are accused of ignoring warning signs, and obscuring the dangers of CJD infection.
The Guardian, 7 February 2008
Fuelled you – dodgy NPower Reps
A former N Power sales rep has alleged in the News of the World that door to door N Power reps have been conning customers into signing contracts based on false figures. Npower said: "We are shocked by the allegations. Our sales force go through rigorous training and have thorough procedures to prevent customers being misled.”
News of the World, February 2008
Trials of a prison whistleblower
A Leeds Employment Tribunal found in favour of prison officer, Emma Howie, in her claim against the Prison Service that she had suffered as a result of reporting wrongdoing. The tribunal highlighted a report by the Prison Service which identified lessons to be learned from a previous whistleblower case, but said the service had failed to take the recommendations seriously. The tribunal concluded a Prison Officers Association representative had been hostile to Ms Howie as a whistleblower, and that her legitimate interests were "entirely ignored". The POA was not available for comment.
BBC News, 29 January 2008
SocGen trader got ‘a bit carried away’
Jérôme Kerviel, the former Société Générale employee, has broken his silence to argue that he got “a bit carried away” trading vast sums of money. Whilst Kerviel would accept his share of responsibility he would not be a scapegoat for the bank’s failings. In extracts of a police statement leaked to the press Kerviel alleged that senior Société Générale officials "closed their eyes" to a culture of cheating (The Independent, 30 January 2008) on the trading floor, so long as it generated profits. SocGen maintains that it is innocent of wrongdoing.
The Financial Times, 6 February 2008
Is Siemens’ reaction to its bribery scandal making the company stronger than ever or killing it off?
To encourage staff to raise concerns about the source of the scandal that has rocked Siemens, the company offered staff an amnesty. As a result, some information has been raised about present and past Board members and this has lead to a delay in shareholder votes. The amnesty has also sparked an intense debate about the culture and future of Siemens because the amnesty has not been offered to well over a hundred senior managers. US officials “explicitly praise” Siemens’ own efforts (FT , 24 January 2008) to uncover questionable payments and find the employees responsible - Siemens is predicted to avoid the strongest financial penalties as a result of its “penitential stance”.
The Financial Times, 20 January 2008
Wales Audit Office responds to media whistleblowing
Following a piece in the Western Mail that an auditor, Andrew Hurley, was placed on gardening leave in October 2005, the day before he was due to start an investigation into concerns that an NHS body may have been breaching patient confidential information, the Wales Audit Office responded pointing out that the auditor had been off work since the incident. It said it was now investigating whether the auditor had breached confidentiality, commenting “We have not arrived at any conclusions, but this issue needs to be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. Contrary to the assertions made by Andrew Hurley, it is not the case that the WAO has failed to act on the concerns expressed to Mr Hurley by a member of staff of Swansea NHS Trust. In fact, another IT audit specialist within the WAO undertook a detailed review of those concerns, as part of a wider review of information governance within HSW.”
ic Wales, 28 January 2008
More BBC shows caught up in trust row
In a report to the BBC Trust, director general Mark Thompson said that two new cases had come to light as part of last summer’s "whistleblowing" trawl of BBC staff. The move led to a number of staff coming forward to report transgressions. In a statement, BBC management said: "Neither of the two new cases revealed any new types of failing editorial practice which have not already been captured by the action plan, and both predate the commencement of the action plan…The BBC’s swift action and full disclosure seems to have played an important part in maintaining confidence amongst the public in the BBC’s commitment to putting its house in order.”
Media Guardian, 24 January 2008
ArcelorMittal in talks over safety fears
ArcelorMittal have met union representative s in Brussels to address health and safety concerns in the wake of a recent accident in the Company’s Kazakhstan operation that killed 30 people. Chief Executive, Lakshmi Mittal stated the latest accident in Kazaksthan was "awful" and "completely unacceptable", that the re were often “cultural and operational difficulties” but they were committed to implementing safety standards “in the best possible way”. Mittal promised union representatives last year that ArcelorMittal would investigate claims that employees in Macedonia were being told by local managers to keep health and safety worries to themselves in order to minimize short-term plant disruptions.
The Financial Times, 22 January 2008
Inquest blames government for failing to prevent fatal scolding of baby
An inquest has found that the death of a ten-month old baby could have been avoided if warnings about faulty heaters had been passed on to landlords and local authorities by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister after a similar incident was reported to the ODPM in 2002.
The Telegraph, 11 January 2008
Philip Agee, former CIA agent, dies in Cuba
Agee, who worked for the CIA for 12 years from 1957-1969, was the first person to publish that the CIA supported "dirty tricks", including assassinations, to keep pro-Soviet movements out of power in Latin America , in his “CIA diary", published in 1975. To some at the time ”he was a conscientious whistleblower, to others a "traitor" responsible for the deaths of American, and possibly British, intelligence agents.”
The Independent, 11 January 2008
VW head “unaware” of bribery scandal
Ferdinand Piëch, Volkswagen chairman, has denied having known of a big bribery scandal at the carmaker during his reign as chief executive, even though he admitted having had close contact with the protagonists of the affair. He told the court in Braunschweig, northern Germany : “If I had heard of such things I would have acted to stop them”.
Financial Times, 10 January 2008
New leaked data fiasco
A junior doctor raised her concerns with her employer, Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust, that she was being expected to do research using fully identifiable details of patients and was consequently placed on special leave. Her concerns arose after realising that her fully identifiable medical details had been passed to a private medical researcher despite withholding her consent for her employer to do so. After a five year battle, Cambridgeshire PCT and the East of England Strategic Health Authority have apologised in open court stating that they appreciate the concept of medical confidentiality is paramount and that they should never have placed her on special leave.
Channel 4 News, 10 January 2008
The truth must be exposed
Charges made under the Official Secrets Act have been dropped against Derek Pasquill, a 48-year-old Foreign Office official, who had been accused of leaking a number of documents to the New Statesman and the Observer that were said to have done damage to UK foreign policy. The case against Pasquill collapsed after it emerged that members of the Foreign Office shared Pasquill’s concerns and that government policy was changed as a result. The New Statesman calls for an inquiry into the matter to establish if officials played a role in perverting the course of justice, stating ”this case has exposed the malice and hypocrisy at the heart of Whitehall’s approach to whistleblowers. The public interest is best served by promoting this kind of debate, rather than by seeking to criminalise individuals who have acted to expose dangerous policy.”
New Statesman, 10 January 2008
Network Rail ignored the warnings over engineering works timetable for a month
Network Rail has come under fire after it emerged that the company was warned as early as 6 December that engineering works would not be finished on time. An insider said to the Telegraph that “it was common knowledge within the industry that the original timetable was falling apart but they appeared blind to the risk. It was almost as if they stuck their heads in the sand.”
The Telegraph, 4 January 2008
Website of the month
Public Concern at Work’s website is the Guardian’s website of the month.
Guardian unlimited, 2 January 2008
Protection for Endangered Whistle-Blowers
An editorial in the New York Times has urged for the “strongest possible whistleblower law” to be passed in the wake of 9/11 and the abuses of management during the Iraq war. While the US Congress and Senate are committed to strong new protections, there is a fear these may be vetoed by the White House.
New York Times, 28 December 2007
Whistleblower’s just desserts?
A debate on whether whistleblowers should be rewarded in a US style scheme has been initiated by the Home Office in order to asses how the Asset Recovery Agency can reach its targets of recovering £250m a year by 2010. Public Concern at Work, in its response to the Home Office proposal, raises some “cogent objections”.
Guardian Unlimited, 19 December 2007
Hospital fines for patient harm
Sir Liam Donaldson had stated that he will recommend to Lord Darzi, in his review of the NHS, that PCTs should withhold funding from hospitals if they have caused harm that could have been prevented. Sir Liam stated "Why should the health service, funded by the taxpayer, pay for the care of a patient that’s had bad care? In any other walk of life if you receive very bad service then you don’t pay for it, you get a refund, and I don’t think it should be any different in the health service…I have not thought about all the details but as a concept it is something I think should be introduced”
BBC News, 13 December 2007
Safety warnings over crash jet “ignored by MoD”
The board of inquiry into the crash of Flight XV230 that exploded, killing 14 servicemen in Afghanistan in September 2006, has focussed on a ruptured pipe as the cause. A similar rupture was the cause of a near fatal accident in 2004. The MoD rejected the 2004 inquiry’s recommendations for an early warning system that would detect such a risk stating that it was an isolated incident.
The Telegraph, 4 December 2007
UN chief takes steps to ensure UN funds and programs follow ethics
Robert Benson, head of the U.N. Ethics Office, has outlined the secretary-general’s new policy stating that the U.N. system must "cultivate and nurture a culture of ethics, integrity and accountability." Under the directive, a new United Nations Ethics Committee chaired by Benson will establish a unified set of ethical standards and policies. U.N. funds and agencies can establish their own ethics offices and adopt their own whistleblower policies, in the absence of a whistleblower policy an employee can seek whistleblower protection from the Ethics Committee.
International Herald Tribune, 4 December 2007
Army Target Drugs Whistleblowers
Soldiers have been warned to stop leaking stories to the Record after the Record reported that they snorted cocaine, had sex with prostitutes and guzzled tequila as they prepared to serve in Afghanistan . One said: "They are trying to put the fear of God into us but I take my hat off to the soldiers who spoke to the Record. People need to know what is going on and how bad it is…I am not saying everyone is taking drugs but it’s out of control and not enough is being done by the Army to sort it out." However the claims have been controversial with other soldiers insisting they were "very good ambassadors" for the forces.
Glasgow Daily Record, 28 November 2007
Delivery vans kept rancid meat
Former employee of meat distribution company, Alan Castell, has spoken to the BBC about the rancid van conditions in which meat was kept, transported and delivered to customers. His concerns and allegations of potentially fatal breaches of health, safety and hygiene laws against McLaren Foods, of Ashford , Kent , date back more than two years. Officials from Environmental Health said a spot check would have been over zealous and against the government’s desire for local authorities not to be heavy handed.
BBC News, 28 November 2007
Exam watchdog’s £4.2m hotel bill
Education officials spent more than £1.6 million of taxpayers’ money on top hotels and conference centres in just six months. The full extent of the spending only emerged after a whistleblower within the organisation raised concerns. The five-star Park Lane and Le Meridien hotels were both among the venues used by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). The QCA has stated that the given the review was a “major national undertaking” the choice of venues were justified.
The Telegraph, 26 November 2007
Information ‘hotline’ provides outlet for malice aforethought
The Scottish Football Association is to open a confidential ‘hotline’ for whistleblowers, through which informants will have the opportunity to pass information on corruption to its compliance unit. The service will be accessible 24 hours a day, and will allow callers to provide information either in confidence or anonymously if preferred. However the article criticises anonymous informing, stating “The move to cleanse football of corrupt practices is admirable and desirable, but, unless certain foolproof safeguards are introduced, this scheme carries a potential for abuse that is deeply disturbing. When a whistleblower is offered anonymity, there is a risk it will become, in essence, an invitation to any mischief-maker, or even crank, to spread rumour and suspicion, with possibly hideous consequences for the object of his or her malice.”
The Scotsman, 24 November 2007
Why did they die?
Scotland’s Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini, has announced that a major public inquiry into the ICL/Stockline factory blast in Glasgow will be run jointly by the Scottish and UK governments as a result of the joint report from Stirling and Strathclyde universities. The report into the blast concluded it was “a sick firm” where workers were “actively discouraged” from raising safety concerns. Report co-author Professor Andy Watterson from Stirling University said “The surprise is not that tragedy struck at ICL, but that it didn’t happen sooner. Neither HSE nor the firm took the action necessary to remedy problems over 20 years that had a clear potential for catastrophic failure”. He added that the multiple deaths and injuries were not the result of an “accident”, but the inevitable outcome of a “dangerously dysfunctional” health and safety culture “blighted by faint-hearted regulators”.
Hazards, October/December 2007
Department of Health decide not to commit on compulsory whistleblowing by care staff
The government has partly accepted the recommendations of an inquiry by the joint committee on human rights. The inquiry of the JCHR in August recommended that whistleblowing should "become more than just a moral duty". However in response , the government has stopped short of promising to make reporting cases of abuse compulsory for care home and health care staff who work with older people. The reply said that “appropriate requirements” would be put in place over reporting of suspected abuse under the Care Quality Commission, the merged health and social care regulator which will come into force by 2009. The response stated that a review of No Secrets, the statutory guidance originally issued to local councils in 2000, will provide a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the NHS and regulators to tackle abuse and prevent it from occurring. It was added that the government would be undertaking a public consultation as to what changes to the guidance might be useful.
Communitycare.co.uk, 19 November 2007
More than half of North Sea oil rigs fail safety checks
The HSE has condemned safety regimes at Britain’s North Sea oil operators. Inspections revealed that almost 60% of North Sea oil platforms had problems that oil companies should have addressed. The trade unions said the report confirmed that some operators were putting their workforce at risk, backing complaints made by offshore workers for the past five years. Malcolm Webb, chief executive of the lobby group Oil & Gas UK, said no one in the industry was in any doubt about the importance of safety stating “the report highlights that there is work still to be done and that in some areas we are not yet where we need to be…we are committed to continuous improvement in this area”
The Guardian, 22 November 2007
Officer sacked over funding probe
A senior Northern Ireland civil servant working at the sustainable energy branch of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Industry, has been sacked following a top-level investigation into a funds distribution scheme. The sacking follows an 18-month investigation which was sparked, in part, by two anonymous "whistleblower" letters sent to the Northern Ireland Audit Office.
Belfast Telegraph, 22 November 2007
Water scandal chiefs may face court
Whistleblower David Donnelly said the water company, Severn Trent, had exaggerated bad debts to justify inflated price rises for customers and had submitted false leakage reports.
This is Money, 25 November 2007
NHS difficile
In a response to the Chairman of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS’ letter to the times, the Chairman of Maidstone BMA (NHS) stated “We must never allow any trust in the UK to be run by such a publicly unaccountable and — in the end — ineffective regime again. Other communities should be on their guard and “whistleblowers” protected. We look forward to a new era of honest and open management in Maidstone .”
Times Online, 15 November 2007
As Japan’s economy changes, whistleblowers grow bolder in exposing wrongdoing
As Japan modernizes, people increasingly see themselves as individuals and consumers, with a duty to speak up against wrongdoing. Whistleblowers are behind the spate of recent scandals and reports to the government of suspicious food manufacturing, nearly all from insiders, have skyrocketed from some 100 a month last year to 697 last month, said food safety official, Yosuke Abe. Policeman, Toshiro Semba, won personal vindication in September when a court awarded him US$8,800 (€6,000) in damages, ruling that his on-the-job treatment was retaliation for his 2004 exposure of police forging receipts to wine and dine on the public purse. The police are appealing the ruling. Semba commented "I felt there’s justice in this world".
International Herald Tribune, 13 November 2007
EU whistleblower loses claim
Marta Anderson, former European Commission chief accountant, has lost her claim against the commission for wrongful dismissal. Anderson was sacked after alleging that the EU was riddled with fraud and believes that the court ruled against her in a bid to continue to silence whistleblowers. Anderson stated “I followed the procedures. It was the commission that decided that is did not like what I was saying internally and suspended me before I went public”. Commission officials welcomed the decision “her allegations were not new and were rather general…to be a whistleblower you have to respect certain channels”. Anderson has expressed her intention to appeal the decision.
The Telegraph, 9 November 2007
Nurse did £3000 of private shifts whilst off sick
Katherine Clark, whilst claiming she was off sick from her job at an NHS 24 call centre, was recognised when working night shifts at hospitals in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy, Scotland, by a colleague whose wife knew she had called in sick. Clark confessed to the fraud when interviewed by the NHS Counter Fraud Service investigators.
The Daily Record, 7 November 2007
Siemens offers to spare whistleblowing managers
In a letter sent to senior management teams, obtained by AFP, the German engineering group Siemens will fight corruption by offering to spare managers who denounce illegal practices from harsh sanctions. The letter stated "the company will impose no heavy sanctions, such as firing or demand of compensation, against staff who, before January 31, 2008, completely and honestly inform of violations or irregularities in accounts… [Siemens] reserves the right to impose lighter sanctions such as a warning, transfer, ethical training or changes of function."
AFP, 1 November 2007
Airport worker raised the alarm that pilot was drunk
Police were last night awaiting results of a blood test on the 42-year-old pilot, who was reported by an airport worker to be smelling of alcohol. A source commented “it is frightening that we could have been over the Atlantic with a boozy first officer at the helm.” Virgin have undertaken to investigate the matter thoroughly.
The Mirror, 29 October 2007
BP accepts blame for US disasters and agrees to pay $373m in fines
The oil company BP has accepted blame for failures to protect employees, the environment and consumers as it agreed to hand over a total of $373m to settle a string of criminal investigations into its conduct across America. Earlier this year top managers were blamed for the blast , an internal BP report stated that four managers should be sacked for failing to prevent the explosion at the fatal Texas City refinery and found that a fifth manager had ignored “serious warning signals”. The four managers “had failed to perform their management accountabilities in significant ways”. BP as a whole was criticised for failing to provide clear lines of responsibility.
The Guardian, 26 October 2007
BBC News, 3 May 2007
Business fraud: face up to the facts
This year’s Global Economic Crime Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers should be a wake up call for business to the true size of the problem of economic fraud. When examining the benefits of one method of detecting fraud, whistleblowing systems: “21% more respondents now have them in place than in 2005, yet only 51% of companies reported them as effective. When compared with the financial and reputational damage resulting from falling victim to fraudsters, it is evidently a price worth paying.”
Accountancy Age, 25 October 2007
Former chief executives jailed
Michael Bright, former head of Independent Insurance, has been sentenced to a seven year jail sentence for his role in the fraud that helped cause one of the biggest corporate collapses of the decade. Mr. Justice Rivlin commented “You introduced a fear factor into the working lives of your managers, it was against this background that the fraud which you devised was able to thrive.”
Financial Times, 24 October 2007
Alan Johnson announces powers for new health watchdog
Following the Healthcare Commission’s investigation into the outbreak of Clostridium Difficile at Maidstone and Tunbridge Well NHS, a new health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, has been proposed by the Department of Health. Health Secretary, Alan Johnson stated: "The regulator will have tougher powers to inspect and even close wards in order to protect patients and service users, NHS staff, such as matrons, nurses and porters, who spend every day on the wards, need to feel able to report concerns to the new regulator."
The Department of Health (press release), 24 October 2007
Whistleblower exposed risks of Lynn’s empire
Following a tip-off from a former employee about Irish property firm, Kendar Properties, run by solicitor Michael Lynn, the Law Society sent in an authorized officer who discovered massive mortgage fraud and misuse of clients’ funds. The Independent stated “were it not for the whistleblower, Lynn’s unethical excesses may never have come to light.”
Irish Independent, 21 October 2007
Unions plan to name and shame oil companies blacklisting ‘safety whistleblowers’
Two unions allege that the practice in oil companies of labeling workers as “not required back” after they had raised or questioned health and safety issues amounted to industrial gansterism and have launched a campaign to “name and shame” companies involved.
Scotsman, 18 October 2007
Screening for bogus staff is not whistleblowing
“The positive benefits of genuine whistleblowing by loyal staff are wholly different from the negative associations that an organisation will feel when it discovers it has been infiltrated by undercover journalists”, commented Guy Dehn, Director of Public Concern at Work. Dehn wrote in response to Michael Wittington’s article ‘Screening out bogus staff’ ( Personnel Today , 17 July), which used ‘undercover journalist’ and ‘whistleblower’ interchangeably and consequently claimed that "the word ‘whistleblower’ is enough to send a shiver down the spine of any senior management executive".
PersonnelToday.com, 15 October 2007
Superbug outbreak: Fostered by lack of whistleblowing culture
The Healthcare Commission’s report into the outbreak at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, where Clostridium difficile was the main cause of approximately 60 deaths, highlighted “that s taff did not feel there were effective routes to raise clinical concerns and had little confidence that the trust learnt from clinical incidents. Senior nurses reported they were able to raise concerns at the monthly meetings of senior nurses, however they did not feel that this often led to resolution of the issues. The minutes of these meetings were not sent to any of the meetings on risk or meetings of senior managers and consequently the board would not have been aware of their concerns unless they had been raised by the director of nursing and patient services.” The Telegraph (15 October 2007) reported that doctors had claimed that the CEO, Rose Gibb, had deliberately withheld information about the extent of the outbreak of Clostridium Difficile, even from fellow board members and junior doctors were also allegedly ordered not to put Clostridium Difficile on death certificates.
The Healthcare Commission, October 2007
Whistleblowers – new radio series
Alan Torney talks to prominent whistleblowers in a new series running on Sundays at 10.30am on RTÉ Radio 1 FM.
RTE Radio One
MEPs take "a critical look" at the Commission’s administrative reform
Budgetary Control Committee MEPs have commented that there is still room for improvement in protecting whistleblowers. MEP Paul van Buitenen rebuked comments that there is sufficient protection for whistleblowers stating “I receive so many EC staff members in my office to denounce issues that I am compiling a nice file.”
European Parliament (press release), 4 October 2007
3000 goldminers trapped a mile underground
The South African National Union of Mineworkers spokesperson, Lesiba Seshoka, said workers at the mine had previously complained that the shaft that collapsed, trapping 3000 more than a mile underground, had "not been maintained for ages…. our guys there tell us that they have raised concerns about the whole issue of maintenance of shafts with the mine owners but they have not been attended to". The union also criticized Harmony Gold for failing to have an escape shaft or route as many other mines have.
Guardian Unlimited, 4 October 2007
Tube driver walkout over safety concerns
Tube drivers walked out after managers failed to respond efficiently to their safety concerns about automatic breaking systems. They only returned after safety checks had been carried out. The RMT said "it is regrettable that managers only took our members’ concerns seriously after they took decisive steps to ensure their own and passengers’ safety."
The Financial Times, 28 September 2007
Civil servant awarded £50000 compensation
A Northern Irish civil servant has accepted an out of court settlement of £50,000 for his whistleblowing claim under PIDO. The claim was for reprisals after he lifted the lid on alleged mismanagement practices in relation to the way senior posts were allocated. The official, Brian McTeggart, commented "the scale of this settlement sends a potent message to those who would attempt to silence people who expose irregularities, malpractice and failures in governance."
Fermanagh Herald , Northern Ireland , 27 September 2007
New system for protection of whistleblowers
Due to rising concerns of the treatment and lack of protection for informants and whistleblowers in China , a centralized national reporting network on the Internet and a free national telephone hotline has been proposed. The identity of whistleblowers will be better protected in the database as top prosecution authorities will be able to gather information first before ordering lower authorities to investigate.
China Post, Taiwan , 26 September 2007
Gala dinner for US Whistleblowers
Government Accountability Project (GAP) has celebrated its 30th anniversary and saluted key whistleblowers at a gala dinner.
YubaNet , USA , 26 September 2007
Inspector Finds Broad Failures in Oil Program
Whistleblowing by four auditors at a federal agency sparked a year long investigation. They claimed that senior administration officials blocked them from recovering money that oil companies owed the government. The report from the investigation suggested the agency was too close to the oil companies and that whistleblowing was unwelcome. However it stopped short of accusing top agency officials of wrongdoing, concluding that the whistleblowers were not always aware of efforts to recover the missing money and sometimes they simply disagreed with top management.
New York Times, 26 September 2007
Guerrilla artist Banksy caught up in eBay fraud
A worker passed information to the Art Newspaper that staff had sold unauthorised prints by the artist Banksy on Ebay and that over a period of a year they had placed bogus bids to push up the selling price. The company has launched an investigation.
The Guardian, 25 September 2007
Whistleblowing claims against Nomura rejected
A London employment tribunal has found against former city bond salesman, Simon Hussey, on his allegations of whistleblowing. The tribunal accepted Nomura’s reason that Hussey was dismissed for poor performance. Head of Human Resources for Nomura stated "The whistleblowing legislation was designed to protect employees who, in good faith, raise legitimate concerns of wrongdoing in the workplace. Its growing use by white men as a litigation tactic when in dispute with the City employers, suggests the legislation is being abused." Commenting on the story , Guy Dehn, director of PCaW, called on the government to throw off "the blanket of secrecy" in tribunal claims, which encouraged abuse, and publish both the employee’s claim and the employer’s defence simultaneously on the internet.
The Financial Times, 18 September 2007
Personnel today, 25 September 2007
Ferrari dedicate Grand-Prix win to whistleblower
The president of Ferrari dedicated their latest win to the "English gentleman" who thought it odd that the wife of McLaren chief designer was using his shop’s facilities to copy 780 pages of Ferrari confidential information.
F1-Live.com, 17 September 2007
Whistleblowers in China a rare and endangered species
China’s failure to protect those who expose malpractice is at the heart of safety problems, consumer rights advocates argue that "If you want to have a good system of consumer protection, protecting whistleblowers is an essential requirement".
The Financial Times, 14 September 2007
The Big Picture: Whistleblow with care
A social care consultant highlights the need for a proportionate response from employers when their employees blow the whistle. “let’s not kid ourselves that whistleblowing is straightforward. It requires a clear focus on what is right plus the confidence and value-base to challenge and expose. But let’s also recognise that organisations need to reflect on how they respond when the whistle is blown, recognising that the response given will have a major impact on whether and how concerns are raised in the future.”
Communitycare.co.uk, 13 September 2007
EU prepares anonymous poll on whistleblowing
Former Whistleblower Paul Van Buitenen urged the European commission to advance its whistleblowing rules “In my view, the developments in this area of whistleblowing are too slow. There should be concrete proposals on the table. The British regulation is a perfect example for a European one. Europe should be the bellwether in this area, so that other member states can follow"
EUX.TV, 12 September 2007
Sarbox is limited help for whistleblowers
New research suggest the Sarbanes Oxley Act whistleblower protection measures have only succeeded in a small fraction of claims.
The Financial Times, 7 September 2007
Singapore Law Society encourages whistleblowing in law firms
The President of the Singapore Law Society is promoting a culture of whistleblowing in law firms as ‘the only way of detecting and then eradicating harmful conduct that takes place in secrecy’.
The Straits Times, 7 September 2007
Save corporate reputation by taking employee concerns seriously
Corporations need to take concerns seriously in order to avoid similar scandals to Enron in the future. “Employees need to feel confident that any concern they raise will be listened to and that they will be supported by their organisation if they raise it, on the basis that ‘every call counts’,” says Philippa Foster Back, director of IBE, while Anna Myers, PCaW’s deputy, cautions about the risks of anonymous informing.
Ethical Corporation Magazine UK, 5 September 2007
Overhaul of track inspections after crash
Network Rail will undergo an urgent overhaul of its track inspection regime after admitting that the catalogue of errors that caused the fatal west coast train crash could be repeated. A report into the incident ‘found that a set of points, used to switch trains from one set of tracks to another, was allowed to deteriorate despite being inspected more than a dozen times in the months leading up to the crash, when faults were already becoming apparent.’
The Guardian, 5 September 2007
Warnings ignored before fatal air crash
A court heard that specific warnings about defective equipment were ignored by the Swiss air traffic controller at the heart of an air crash in 2002. The controller was murdered in 2004 by a distraught relative of one of the 71 victims.
The Times, 5 September 2007
Jersey whistleblower feels vindicated
A UK social worker, Simon Bellwood has helped to spark a major inquiry into children’s services in Jersey amid widespread concerns about child protection on the island. Bellwood speaks out as to why he chose to blow the whistle on practices and stated “all the improvements I was struggling to introduce have been implemented, and the treatment of young people in secure accommodation in Jersey has definitely improved. Has it been worth it? Yes.”
Communitycare.co.uk, 31 August 2007
Cornish NHS - alarm bells ring
A whistleblower at South Western Ambulance Service Trust (SWAST) has backed claims by a former employee who had told the media patients in urban areas such as Plymouth and Exeter could die needlessly because of the poor ambulance service. This followed a story the previous week abut poor staff morale at Treliske hospital. The whistleblowers were not identified, saying that to talk publicly about the problems was "career limiting".
The Cornishman, 29 August 2007
Many nurses ‘wouldn’t report abuse’
A survey for Help the Aged has found many nurses would not report suspected abuse of an elderly person in their care because they fear having got it wrong. The poll for Help the Aged found that a lack of training, heavy workloads and fear of being confronted by the abuser was stopping nurses taking action.
Guardian Unlimited, 29 August 2007
It takes vigilance to detect procurement fraudsters
A South Africa lawyer explains the value of whistleblowing in detecting procurement fraud but fears the concept is unfamiliar in Africa and that the legislation has loopholes.
Business Report - Johannesburg, South Africa, 28 August 2007
Auditors probe hospital waiting lists
An external audit investigation into waiting lists at the Royal Preston Hospital was promoted by an employee’s letter to the North West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) who passed it to Monitor as the hospital is a foundation trust
Lancashire Evening Post, 17 Aug 2007
BT compensates whistleblowers
BT has paid out a six figure sum to two whistleblowers who alleged that they were bullied and forced out of the company for raising concerns about a potential fraud. Their lawyer said “this is an important case of a publicly quoted company with seemingly stringent policies, internal audit functions and corporate governance procedures being unable to protect two senior employees after having disclosed what they believed to be serious breaches in good faith as part of their jobs.’
Independent, 24 August 2007
Six care workers sacked for whistleblowing awarded £1m
The local authority said in a statement: “The council acknowledges that the concerns raised were genuinely held and raised in what the staff members perceived to be a manner that was the benefit of children in the council’s care. The council recognises that the management of the response to the concerns raised did not sufficiently reflect the expectations of the staff members and wishes to place on record its view that lessons have been learned from these regrettable events.” Communitycare editorial echoed the council’s statement in their comment “If only those running the service would focus on addressing the problem rather than shooting the messenger we might move nearer to creating a culture where more staff feel able to speak up about bad practice.”
Communitycare.co.uk, 22 August 2007
Daily Mail, 14 August 2007
Care staff must blow whistle on abuse
An inquiry by the MPs and peers on the joint committee on human rights has recommended all staff in care homes and NHS should be under a duty to report abuse with protection provided for whistleblowing and confidentiality.
Communitycare.co.uk, 15 August 2007
China mine disaster rescue bid launched
Authorities now offer rewards to whistleblowers who expose problems and prosecute officials who collude with unscrupulous mine bosses.
ITN, 18 August 2007
The Abu Ghraib whistleblower’s ordeal
Joe Darby, the US soldier who confidentially reported the photographs of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and was subsequently named publicly by Donald Rumsfeld, speaks to Michael Buerk on Radio 4. Darby states that he was just “a soldier doing his job – no more, no less…I’ve never regretted for one second what I did in Iraq, to turn those pictures in.”
BBC News, 10 August 2007
How arch rivals colluded to hike up cost of air travel
During a response to a request for information from the Office of Fair Trading, lawyers at Virgin Atlantic unearthed evidence of collusion to hike fuel surcharges between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Virgin’s lawyers advised this information be immediately reported to the UK competition authorities, who granted Virgin immunity and fined BA €121 million. Mr Walsh, Chief Executive of BA, stated that he would have reported the illegal conversations had he known of them.
The Guardian, 2 August 2007,
Consultant suspended for 5 years after blowing whistle get job...
A heart specialist who blew the whistle on hospital overcrowding has been cleared to return to work. Dr Mattu stated “I have always denied bullying anyone. My sole concern was, and remains, the safety of patients.” Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust was cleared of responsibility for any deaths in relation to overcrowding in 2004, but the case has cost the CWNHST an estimated £2.5 million.
Daily Mail, 31 July 2007
Smelly Old SOX?
This review of the first five years of the Sarbanes Oxley Act – the USA’s post Enron law – refers to a recent critique of its whistleblowing arrangements, saying that corporate whistleblowers should also receive rewards and not just protection from reprisals.
The Economist – UK, 26 July 2007
ITV ‘expects’ phone-in criticism
Michael Grade, Chairman of ITV, gave evidence to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport select committee stating it was unlikely that the outcome of the audit would give ITV a clean bill of health but added that “a whistle-blowing policy”, which had been put in place at ITV, was proving “very, very useful”. Channel 4 and Five are to work together on a code of best practice for all independent producers in the wake of the incidents.
BBC News, 25 July 2007
China: a time for whistleblowers?
The Chinese government compensated Zhang Zhijian, who exposed the corruption of former drug safety commissioner Zheng Xiaoyu. Zheng was executed in early July for allowing eight pharmaceutical companies to bypass the drug approval process, including one company whose antibiotic is suspected of killing at least 10 people. The compensation payment was for the ten months that Zhang Zhijian spent in jail. China’s Business paper has looked at the issue of whistleblowing and China’s culture and argued the time is ripe for reform.
JURIST – USA, 24 July 2007
Away with this secrecy over employment tribunal details
PCaW’s director, Guy Dehn, urges for the blanket of secrecy in employment tribunal claims to be thrown off to discourage abuse. He suggests this as an alternative to the suggestion of employees bearing some of the costs of the claim in his article “Deliver us from employment tribunal hell”, July 19.
The Financial Times, 20 July 2007
Lord Owen alleges a ‘cover-up’ over 1757 blood deaths
It was well known within Whitehall, the haemophiliac community and doctors that there were problems with contaminated blood imports that infected thousands of British people with deadly diseases. Lord Owen stated “it is always a difficult question for ministers, do you reveal a risk or do you get on with trying to reduce the risk. I chose to try to reduce the risk.”
Scotsman, 12 July 2007
Author of UN whistleblower policy says UN ex-employee in North Korea should get whistleblowing protection
Christopher Burnham, previous UN undersecretary-general for management and author of the UN’s whistleblowing policy, urges protection for former North Korean Operations Officer who revealed serious allegations about financial transactions at the UN Development Fund.
International Herald Tribune, 9 July 2007
900 hundred passengers stranded for two hours after tube derailment
The Rail Maritime and Transport Union said that they had repeatedly warned London Underground of safety issues on the section of track where the tube derailed. General Secretary Bob Crow said it was the fourth incident in 18 months. London Underground responded by stating that maintenance works and checks are carried out every night.
The Daily Mail, 6 July 2007
Doctor gave drug to sick babies ‘in act tantamount to euthanasia’
An investigation was launched into a doctor’s conduct as a result of staff raising doubts about his actions. Concerns were brought to light after the doctor administered massive doses, 23 times the normal amount, of a paralyzing drug to babies in the terminal stages of life, hastening their deaths.
The Daily Telegraph, 6 July 2007
Care home owner guilty of stealing from residents
A care home owner was convicted for stealing at Leicester Crown, the alarm was raised by the home’s acting manager, who discovered money was going missing from residents’ bank accounts.
CommunityCare, 5 July 2007
Action on Clywch report overdue
3 years after the report into child abuse at a Welsh secondary school, the recommended provision of whistleblowing guidance to teachers has yet to be implemented.
IC Wales, 5 July 2007
Employees most likely to blow the whistle
In a study of cases alleging corporate fraud in US companies, employees were found to be more likely to blow the whistle than external watchdogs, despite risks of reprisals.
Management-Issues, 4 July 2007
Call centre for whistleblowers
The City is to set up a dedicated call centre for whistleblowers in the financial services industry as one of the last legacies of outgoing Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith.
This is Money - UK, 1 July 2007
Whistleblowers inch towards more protection
Switzerland is to enhance its discrimination protection of employees who reveal corruption. The motion passed by parliament allows for higher compensation than the present limitation of one to six months, with possibilities to extend protection to the public sector.
NZZ Online - Zurich Switzerland, 29 June 2007
Ministry office failed to act on tip over Meat Hope beef scam
In Japan, a Ministry ignored a former chief executive and former employees of Meat Hope when they reported fake beef products labeled as 100% beef. Meat Hope has since admitted mixing p ork with their products during b eef shortages. At least six companies have suspended transactions with Meat Hope whilst the company is being investigated.
Asahi Shimbun - Tokyo, 22 June 2007
The Trouble With Business Ethics
US companies will have to deliver on their promises if their whistleblowing arrangements are to be taken seriously. A whistleblower from Wallmart claimed their failure to deliver on promises of anonymity and confidentiality had forced her to quit her job.
BusinessWeek – USA, 22 June 2007
Lesson of Kerelaw is to have effective leadership and well-trained staff
The Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC) acknowledges the serious public concern generated by the publicity regarding practices at the Glaswegian secure unit and residential school, highlighting “The particular importance of actively listening to children, having independent scrutiny, and listening to staff who report poor practice.”
The Herald, 22 June 2007
‘Lessons learnt’ in teacher fraud
Anglesey C ouncil has re-emphasized the importance of whistleblowers as part of its anti-fraud review after a head teacher was ordered to repay £18, 209 to her previous school, on admitting 11 counts of fraud.
BBC News, 21 June 2007
NHS ‘hygiene standards struggle’
The Healthcare Commission, the NHS watchdog, has published data revealing that a quarter of Trusts are not complying with one of the three key standards in relation to the hygiene code. One of the areas that NHS Trusts self-certified that they were doing best in was whistleblowing.
BBC News, 17 June 2007
Anti-corruption-report released
60% of those lodging cases on South Africa’s National Anti Corruption Hotline still wish to remain anonymous.
Independent Online, South Africa, 13 June 2007
Cabinet Office worst in whistleblowing league table
Coverage of PCaW’s report and press release on whistleblowing policies in Whitehall included The Herald, Personnel Today, Public Finance, Epolitix and Public Servant.
11 June 2007
UK is a nation of whistleblowers
Results of Ernst & Young’s Survey reveal that 86% of employees in the UK would feel comfortable raising concerns, with a similar number believing that their employers would protect whistleblowers. John Smart, partner at E&Y, attributed the confidence gap to differences in cultures, legislation and regulation in each country. He said: “The UK has developed a very strong reporting culture supported by law, such as the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act, that forbids the sacking of whistle-blowers who acted in good faith.”
Daily Telegraph, 5 June 2007
Police to exhume three former care home residents as part of ongoing investigations into residential home
A member of staff is understood to have raised the initial concern about the death of a resident at a care home in Somerset to the Commission for Social Care. Subsequent police investigations have led to exhumations of elderly people whose deaths are being treated as suspicious.
Guardian Unlimited, 4 June 2007
Five council staff dismissed for “gross misconduct”
Epping Forest District Council reported that two of the five staff it dismissed for gross misconduct in 2006/7 were due to incidents alerted to them by whistleblowers.
East London and West Essex Guardian Series, 1 June 2007
Samaritan who saved caller’s life was sacked
A Citizen’s Advice Bureau adviser won her unfair dismissal claim after she was dismissed for breaching confidentiality rules in order to alert the GP of a suicide caller who had taken an overdose. The Tribunal Chairman stated “from any point of view this was a sensible course of action to take”.
Timesonline, 25 May 2007
Fraud whistleblowers could get cash rewards
The Home Office has released a consultation paper on the recovery of illegally acquired assets. The paper proposes a new scheme similar to the US in which persons who have become aware of a fraud can receive between 15% and 30% of assets recovered by launching a legal claim on behalf of the government.
Guardian Unlimited, 24 May 2007
TV film claims Tesco and Sainsbury’s flout hygiene
During the course of a six month investigation, two undercover journalists from the BBC revealed failings in hygiene rules in two stores and by suppliers to Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Both supermarkets have rejected any suggestion that the film revealed systemic problems.
Guardian Unlimited, 22 May 2007
From Out of the Shadows, Whistle-Blowers Convene
A coalition of advocacy groups have gathered for Whistleblowing Week in Washington. Events have included talks from internationally recognized whistleblowers such as Colleen Rowley, training sessions on the many federal laws under which whistleblowers can bring legal cases and information on the rewards and risks for whistleblowers.
New York Times, 18 May 2007
Top managers blamed for BP blast
An internal BP report has said that four managers should be sacked for failing to prevent the explosion at the fatal Texas City refinery, and found that a fifth manager had ignored “serious warning signals”. The four managers “had failed to perform their management accountabilities in significant ways”, whilst BP as a whole was criticised for failing to provide clear lines of responsibility.
BBC News, 3 May 2007
GMTV bosses knew about phone scam
Emails show that Bosses at GMTV clearly knew that phone lines were taking premium rate entries when it was no longer possible to win. Mr Carter, who worked for the company that ran the lines for GMTV and was uneasy about the scam, said: “Our bosses at Opera told me that if we rocked the boat for them and GMTV then we would be sacked.” GMTV is thought to have made at least £40 million pounds from the phone-in lines.
This.is.London.co.uk, 28 April 2007
Police kept league tables
A police officer blew the whistle to the press that officers in North Tyneside were being encouraged to ‘unnecessarily’ arrest people to improve their ranking in a league table. Northumbria Deputy Chief Constable David Warcup said that he had stopped the tables as soon as the concern about the risk of abuse had been raised.
The Journal ( Newcastle ), 21 April 2007
Namibia needs Whistleblower law
Paulus Noa, Director of the Namibian Anti Corruption Commission has called for legislation that specifically covers “the protection of whistleblowers as well as witnesses”.
Legalbrief, 5 April 2007
Irish health workers get Whistleblowing protection
Irish Health Minister Mary Harney has introduced a whistleblowing provision as part of the Health Bill 2006, so that health service employees are protected from workplace victimisation. On securing the passage of the Bill through the Dail, she said she wanted to “ensure a culture of openness and one where the patient comes first.”
Irish Health, 22 March 2007
Representatives strengthen whistleblower protection
The House of Representatives has passed a Bill that considerably strengthens whistleblower protection for federal employees. The Bill was passed by the House as part of a package of legislation designed to provide greater accountability. The White House has warned that the Bill could pose a threat to national security and may veto it should it also be passed by the Senate.
The Seattle Times, 15 March 2007
Landmark ruling on blowing the whistle at work
In Babula v Waltham Forest School, the Court of Appeal ruled that a whistleblower does not need to get his law right to be PIDA protected. Lord Justice Wall said “the purpose of the statute…is to encourage responsible whistleblowing.”
Financial Times, 13 March 2007
New survey shows support for whistleblower Bill
A national survey has shown that ‘likely voters’ in 2008 would support a Congress that strengthened a whistleblower law to protect government employees.
World Wire (US), 1 March 2007
Whistleblower uncovers theft by manager
A manager of a children’s home in Peterborough has been convicted of theft after a whistleblower brought her actions to the attention of the City Council. An administrative assistant for the home used the council’s whistleblowing policy and was backed up by a fellow worker.
Peterborough Today, 23 February 2007
Proposed Freedom of Information fees ‘flawed’
Public Concern at Work has described Government proposals to make changes to the Freedom of Information Act fees as “financially flawed and politically incoherent”.
Press Gazette, 22 February 2007
China frees AIDS whistleblower
According to this article, a Chinese doctor Gao Yaojie, who exposed the plight of hundreds of thousands of farmers who were infected with HIV when they sold blood in Government approved schemes, has been freed from house arrest and allowed to travel to America to receive an award.
ABC Australia, 17 February 2007
YouTube Whistleblower vindicated
YouTube whistleblower Michael de Kort, who raised concerns about the safety of US coastguard boats on YouTube, has been vindicated by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
Denver Post, 15 February 2007
‘Culture of fear’ at Home Office undermines new agreement
According to this article, officials at the Home Office are afraid to raise concerns with the Minister because of a prevailing ‘culture of fear’. A new compact has been signed between Ministers and officials at the Home Office clarifying responsibilities and communication, yet one top official noted that there would have to be a “big change in culture” if the compact were to work. Interestingly, most sources in this article are anonymous.
Financial Times, 13 February 2007
Council promoting whistleblowing policy
Torbay Council is promoting their whistleblowing policy to all staff in order to “give them the message that there is a safe alternative to silence”. Two years ago the council lost at tribunal, which ruled that they had unfairly disciplined a whistleblower who raised concerns about a £1 million vehicle contract. The article notes that to help promote their policy, the council will subscribe to the helpline at Public Concern at Work.
Western Morning News, 8 February 2007
Wiki site for anonymous whistleblowers
A new website – wikileaks.org – is to be launched to allow whistleblowers, primarily in developing countries, to anonymously leak evidence of corruption and injustice. Public concern at Work has the last word in the article saying that “whistleblowing works when it is done openly… and that is what drives accountability”.
Reuters, 7th February 2007
Whistleblower alerted NAO to overspend on website for doctors
A whistleblower told the NAO how the Department of Health ha d overspent on a central streaming system for financial and clinical information, disregarded normal tendering procedures, and paid too much for computer consultancy.
The Financial Times, 6th February 2007
Hospital whistleblower ignored
A new report shows that staff concerns about a suspect radiologist were ignored due to “systematic weaknesses at Trafford NHS Trust.” 28 women were wrongly given the all clear for breast cancer.
The Guardian, 2nd February 2007
CEO blows whistle to the SFO
The CEO of a successful new software company has blown the whistle to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) about financial irregularities at Torex, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The company’s shares have been suspended and the SFO have raided a number of houses. The CEO, who has been suspended, maintains his disclosure to the SFO is fully protected under PIDA.
The Financial Times, 1st February 2007
Media whistleblower: Soham again?
A civilian at the Criminal Records Bureau raised concerns that paedophiles could be slipping through the checking system. Trevor Cross finally blew the whistle to the Sunday Mirror after getting no proper response from his bosses. Mr Cross decided to go to the press openly with his story as he could not “sleep at night knowing the system is not doing enough to protect children from paedophiles.” As politicians observed, it is only “the brave actions of whistleblowers that can bring this information into the light.” Mr Cross was dismissed for going to the press and is bringing a claim.
The Sunday Mirror, 14th January 2007
South Africa whistleblower wins
According to this article, this is the first case in South Africa awarding compensation to a whistleblower uncovering corruption. The labour court vindicated Mike Tshishonga who had claimed there was corruption at the top of the Justice Department.
The Sunday Times (South Africa), 7th January 2007
US Supreme Court to rule on whistleblowing
According to this article, the US Supreme Court will review the role and value of the False Claims Act under which whistleblowers can receive substantial rewards. In this case the Bush administration is backing the whistleblower.
Guardian Unlimited, 6th January 2007
Whistleblower wins inquiry into GP cover
This article describes how Liverpool PCT is conducting an inquiry into its out of hours GP service which is contracted to an outside agency (Urgent Care 24), after the former Head of IT claimed there was clinical negligence and statistical manipulation at the organisation, and that he was concerned for patient safety.
IC Liverpool, 18th December 2006
New whistleblower protection in Ireland
This article says that Irish Health Minister Mary Harney is to embed whistleblowing protection into new legislation that will give protection to employees in the Health Service. The move is part of a larger initiative that will see the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) established which will inspect and monitor health service standards in Ireland. The whistleblowing provision was inserted by the Government at Committee Stage.
Irish Health, 13th December 2006
A copy of the Bill can be found here.
£650,000 deal for sacked council man
Peter Francis brought an unfair dismissal claim at an Employment Tribunal winning more than £650,000 in compensation. Mr Francis was dismissed after raising a number of financial concerns which were later confirmed by auditors. After the trial’s conclusion Mr Francis said that “someone else may have been able to turn a blind eye but I had to show some personal integrity.”
The Metro, 5th December 2006
Prison Whistleblower lifts lid on ‘regime of torture’
Former prison Governor Peter Quinn has disclosed the extent of prison torture as detailed in previously confidential internal reports. The reports, one of which was written by Mr. Quinn himself, describe beatings, death threats and sexual assault. Mr Quinn says that because officers were never punished it is likely the abuse continues today. Mr. Quinn said that “there has never before been such a concentration of sustained malpractice as illustrated in this review”.
The Guardian, 13th November 2006
Sacked whistleblower chief vindicated
Triad Group has paid a substantial out of court settlement to former chief executive Mira Makar. Ms Makar was sacked after she raised concerns about financial irregularities, concerns shared by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers causing them to resign earlier this year.
The Guardian, 7th November 2006
GMC issues post-Shipman doctors’ guidelines
The General Medical Council has re-drafted the Good Medical Practice guidelines which, amongst other measures, include the provision for raising concerns about patient safety. This follows an extensive consultation by the GMC following the Harold Shipman Inquiry. The Guide demonstrates how far the medical community and its professional body has come in recognising and emphasising the importance of raising concerns where patient safety may be at risk. Public Concern at Work is clearly identified as a source for confidential and independent advice for doctors.
Reuters, 23rd October 2006
Council blamed over whistleblower
An independent report into the unfair dismissal of Matthew Harper has corroborated most of the tribunal’s decisions. Mr Harper, who was awarded £200,000 at tribunal, raised concerns about a £1m tender for dustcarts by the Council. He was then victimised and sacked for raising these concerns whilst the council went about a ‘systematic cover up’. The report agreed with these findings but suggested that ‘corporate failure’ was to blame rather than the individual officers the tribunal suggested, also concluding that the council had failed to protect Mr Harper.The council has since adopted a new whistleblowing policy.
BBC News, 12th October 2006
2005 a rewarding year for whistleblowers
In the USA, the False Claims Act offers whistleblowers a share of the savings their disclosures bring government. In 2005 these qui tam claims under the False Claims Act secured whistleblowers nearly $137m dollars. A qui tam case means the ‘whistleblower’ brings a case on behalf of the State (as a taxpayer) and if the case is successful will receive 15-30% of the payout. The previous year’s payouts to whistleblowers totalled $83m.
OpEdNews, 4th October 2006
Code of practice demanded in support of whistleblowers
The Children’s Rights Director Dr Roger Morgan has called for nationwide strengthening of whistleblowing procedures following his investigation into abuse at a children’s home in Wakefield (see below 15th Aug 2006). Councils, care organisations and foster carers should have a clearer idea of how to raise concerns and have access to independent advice.
The Yorkshire Post, 23rd September 2006
Whistleblower has no regrets
Luton Town Football manager Mike Newell, who originally blew the whistle on bungs in football leading to the Steven’s Inquiry and the Panorama documentary on football corruption, says he has no regrets.
Daily Telegraph, 20th September 2006
Contrite BP bosses admit blame over Alaskan oil leaks
BP’s American president has described his company’s failure to act on whistleblowing reports as “unacceptable” when responding to Congress’ energy and commerce committee. The company has been accused of ignoring warning signs and cutting back on maintenance for the Prudhoe Bay site. Richard Woollam, former head of corrosion inspection, refused to testify citing the fifth amendment.
Guardian, 8th September 2006
On YouTube, charges of security flaws
A Lockheed Martin engineer decided to go public by making a video on YouTube about safety concerns that he had with Coast Guard boats. During the video he details three main concerns that he has with the boats and says that all his senior colleagues have deliberately ignored his concerns. The video has been taken seriously with Democrat Representative Bennie Thompson writing to the Coast Guard to confirm whether these allegations are true.
Washington Post, 29th August 2006
Council wants voluntary system of whistle-blowing by doctors
The Irish Medical Council have published a consultation paper suggesting that doctors have a whistleblowing system very similar to that promoted by Public Concer at Work.
Irish Medical News, 26th August 2006
Prison Blitz on corrupt staff
The Governor of Haverigg Prison is calling for whistleblowers – both prisoners and staff – to come forward and help root out corrupt officials. The Prison Service is trying to combat corruption following an internal report that was leaked to the BBC, which revealed that 1,000 of the 45,000 prison staff are corrupt.
North-West Evening News, 22nd August 2006
US investor sues BP chiefs over Prudhoe Bay
A US shareholder has filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court in New York against Lord Browne and other Chief Executives over the Prudhoe Bay oil leaks. The complaint highlights the fact that BP failed to listen to whistleblowers, saying that despite BP’s “awareness of the dangerous effect of the corrosion in the pipeline, defendants repeatedly failed to fund the work necessary to correct the problem”.
Financial Times, 16th August 2006
Council ‘tried to hamper inquiries into children’s home failings’
The conduct of Wakefield Council has come under fire after it refused to disclose internal reports to both the NSPCC and Children’s Rights Director who were investigating claims of child abuse at a Local Authority home. The internal reports detailed problems in the home raised by six members of staff who were subsequently dismissed after they had raised their concerns. The six ex-employees have now launched a claim under PIDA, with one claiming Wakefield council are “more interested in self-preservation than child protection”.
Yorkshire Post, 15th August 2006
Whistleblowers bring BP down to earth
BP’s justification of ‘unexpectedly severe corrosion’, is at odds with seven years of ignored internal reporting that budget cuts were causing critical staffing levels, poor maintenance and widespread corrosion.
Financial Times (subs), 8th August 2006
