“Hardly a day goes by without whistleblowing being in the news. Just last month, two police officers were suspended in Cumbria for leaking information to the press about the expenses of an elected Police Commissioner. Last month, the Robert Francis Inquiry published its findings in to the high mortality rates at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, which found a culture of fear and silence throughout the organisation which discouraged staff from raising concerns about patient safety. According to research of the University of Greenwich, 80% of the public feel that whistleblowers should be protected. It seems like we are all agreed that we need more whistleblowers and that they should be protected. But why do we continue to hear about whistleblowers being victimised? As we have seen from the Cumbrian example, should police officers be suspended for raising concerns about the expenses of an elected official? When is whistleblowing in the public interest?”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 13th May 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
