In 2025 during parliamentary debates on the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill, Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard emphasised that new legislation will establish “genuine protection” for anonymous reporting and provide an independent champion for service personnel.
What has not been properly addressed is who will be the champion and who will prevent the aggressive use of the law to silence those who have spoken up or how the use of lawfare to suppress and penalise those who do speak up will be stopped and those responsible held to account.
What is the Official Secrets Act and who does it really protect?
What risks are service personnel facing following tours of active duty?
Should the security services be excluded from scrutiny?
What does fair and transparent mean to those working in sensitive roles?
Join us on 1st July in Westminster welcoming a formidable panel of speakers led by former minister and retired Colonel the Rt.Hon. James Sunderland. During his time as an MP James served as chair of the Armed Forces Bill Select Committee and worked with the MoD and he knows about speaking up and the challenges faced by those who serve their country and do the right thing. James will sharing insight into speaking up, particularly those in sensitive roles including the military and the important role of MP’s as prescribed persons.
James is very clear about the failure of the existing whistleblowing framework and will share his support for an Office of the Whistleblower.
The panel of speakers will include Gary Hawkins a former director at a UK defence supplier and others. If you would like to join this conversation drop us a line or simply register via our website https://wbuk.org/wam-2026-programme/
#WAM2026 #Whistleblowers #DoTheRightThing #Integrity #Ethics #MentalHealthMatters #StopTheStalking #WhistleblowingChampion #OfficeOfTheWhistleblower #WhistleblowingAwarenessWeek #SpeakUpSafely #PsychologicalSafety #AI #Tech
@dawn-davidsen @ceo @Iain Mitchell @Jo Gideon @Stephen Kerr @Tessa Munt
These allegations should concern every MP