By Mathew Carr
Oct. 21, 2024 — LONDON — I’ve been refused entry to the launch of whistleblower-awareness week in London on Monday, where Britain is discussing a “new approach to speaking up” after decades of whistleblower persecution.
It’s being held in historic parliament house and getting through security was no problem.
However Georgina Halford-Hall, who helps lead the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing, said I wasn’t coming in … when I arrived at the event to cover the news and help raise awareness. (Something similar has happened to me multiple times in previous events organised by Halford-Hall.)
She said the event required some form of accreditation that I didn’t have, according to the week’s agenda document, YET that agenda didn’t require it, at all. See the pdf below.
I’m an accredited journalist, by the way, trying to do my job.
“Call security,” she said, loudly, which was a bit embarrassing for me … and she declined to properly explain why I could not enter.
We are full, she said, brushing past me in two different directions … but declining to have a reasonable conversation.
I don’t mind standing, I said, as she dashed off.
Several security officers came to speak with me, urging me to leave.
The previous two whistleblower awareness weeks I’ve attended have had limited success in raising awareness and zero success in achieving law reform.
Will this be the same?
Is “awareness week” being held so that lawmakers appear to to be doing something rather than actually doing something?
https://twitter.com/WhistleUK/status/1847195154366574960
The lawmaking action this week might be away from “awareness week”…in any case.
See this from the Times newspaper:
It’s unclear to me how requiring companies to investigate whistleblower complaints would help. See this:
https://protect-advice.org.uk/press-statement-employment-rights-bill/
Britain has a deep cover-up culture, which is sticky. When I worked at Bloomberg LP in London, an internal investigation was used to demonise me and cover up the bad behavior I was whistleblowing about. Four years later, I’m being asked by a UK tribunal to pay some of Bloomberg’s costs.
In order to achieve entry to the “awareness event”, I messaged the group’s website form while sitting in the parliamentary cafe, where I’m writing this, and I also messaged another contact.
Still, no luck.
Why have the event in such small venues is one question, when you are trying to raise awareness?
https://twitter.com/WB_UK/status/1846651130572325015
I was able to achieve the purchase of a tax-payer subsidized coffee at parliament house’s Jubilee cafe…which showed a little love.
Law reform needed
I’ve been trying to blow the whistle on bad climate news and policy for more than a decade.
A succession of ministers and Halford-Hall seem to have struggled to make progress on bad whistleblowing law.
The current legal regime for whistleblowers is part of employment law. It’s failing and against the interests of the British people, as well as those around the world, according to multiple whistleblowers, lawyers and companies keen on a new system.
[I plan to update this with awareness-week news (assuming there is some). Updated already with Times article, “protect” link.]