UK businesses should welcome, not fear, proposed legislation to strengthen protections for whistleblowers, says Peter Tutton

The Horizon scandal, grooming gangs, vehicle safety cover-ups – all these issues have made headlines over the past year. The common thread is the involvement of whistleblowers – either in exposing the scandal or providing critical evidence to prevent and overturn miscarriages of justice.

But what this unremitting stream of cases has also exposed is a deeply flawed system. Whistleblowers in the UK are often ignored and, in some cases, put under severe pressure and intimidated. Understandably, the feeling that calling out bad behaviour has no benefit to the individual or organisations has become pervasive.

For years, it’s been obvious that legal protections for whistleblowers under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) are unable to adequately protect those who are taking the considerable risk of speaking out.

These limitations have now prompted a much-needed legislative response.

The second reading of a private members’ bill introduced by WhistleblowersUK is due to take place this Summer. Not only does it seek to extend protections to anyone working within a........

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