Whistleblower campaigners celebrate 10th anniversary and announce October Awareness Week; Keynote from The Rt.Hon. The Baroness Kramer

Whistleblowing Awareness Week 21st to 25th October 2024 

This year WhistleblowersUK celebrates its 10th anniversary with the second annual Whistleblowing Awareness Week (WBAW), starting next Monday, 21 October. 

WhistleblowersUK is a not-for-profit organisation which provides information and assistance to over 3,000 individuals and organisations and is the leading voice for the reform of whistleblowing law, calling for the introduction of an Office of the Whistleblower. 

WhistleblowersUK is delighted to be running the UK’s second annual Whistleblowing Awareness Week with the support of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Whistleblowing, as well as a growing panel of sponsors and supporters. 

Retired Judge Dr Victoria McCloud, director of Whistleblowers UK said: 

"The UK is waking up and realising that immediate steps are needed, for which there is already cross-party support in the Lords and Commons, to enact The Whistleblowing Bill. The Bill will prevent the tragedies which have blighted people’s lives and our economy." 

"The Whistleblowing Bill together with the proposed duty of Candour pursued by the Hillsborough victims offers real protection with real power. It lets ‘bystanders’ become ‘upstanders’ without fear. It is my experience that under existing legislation genuine whistleblowers are lambs to the slaughter and not treated as the vital witnesses which they truly are." 

Georgina Hallford-Hall, CEO of Whistleblowers UK, commented: 

"Whistleblowing should be part of the DNA of our society. Multiple scandals demonstrate that people are scared to speak up, and when they do they are ignored or crushed, this is wrong! It is time to put an end to the culture that allows unscrupulous organisations and lawyers to put reputation above responsibility. It’s time to normalise speaking up, investigate wrongdoing, and hold those responsible to account, and ban the use of Non Disclosure Agreements to silence whistleblowers." 

"Whistleblowing Awareness Week is an opportunity for Parliamentarians to blow the whistle on the failure of PIDA and introduce an Office of the Whistleblower, a real legacy for the future.” 

Running over five days, from 21 – 25 October 2024, WhistleblowersUK will host seminars, talks and receptions in Westminster with support and sponsorship from a range of MPs and key figures from the whistleblower and business community. 

The events that make up WBAW provide an opportunity for everyone to better understand and celebrate the whistleblowers that help to keep us all safe. 

WBAW is a demonstration of our commitment to educate, support and champion whistleblowing. 

Gareth Snell MP for Stoke on Trent, Chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing commented: 

"The APPG is supporting Whistleblowing Awareness Week because it is time for whistleblowing to be properly recognised as an all-round force for good! Good for business and good for Britain. Whistleblowers need to be seen as the board's best friend because evidence demonstrates that whistleblowers are the single most effective means of identifying crime, corruption and cover up within every organisation." 

Jo Gideon, Chair of Whistleblowers UK commented: 

“Protecting those who have the courage to speak out about fraud and wrongdoing is the right thing to do. A duty of candour is only enforceable with the introduction of an Office of the Whistleblower. The time to introduce a Whistleblowing Bill is now if we are to avoid future miscarriages of justice such as Hillsborough, the Horizon scandal or the contaminated blood scandal. Our whistleblowing awareness week highlights the urgent need for legislative change.” 

Supporters of the week’s events include: Baroness Kramer, Gareth Snell MP, Jo Gideon, Iain Mitchell KC, Dr Victoria McCloud, FS.com, Forvis Mazars, Pinkertons, Hillsborough Law, W Legal, Navex, Tenet Law, KKC, Flora Page, Elkan Abrahamson, Lord Sharkey, Lord Berkeley, Tessa Munt MP, Lord Shipley, Warinder Juss MP, Cat Smith MP, Tom Tugendhat MP.