Failing to act on whistleblower warnings has cost UK taxpayers at least 426 million, according to new research by the whistleblowing charity Protect. The study analysed three major scandals: the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, the Countess of Chester Hospital/Lucy Letby case, and the collapse of construction giant Carillion. Each case revealed significant financial losses due to a lack of accountability and failure to heed whistleblower warnings.
The research estimated the financial impact as follows:
These figures account for public inquiries, police investigations, delays to infrastructure projects, and compensation payments. Protect emphasised that the lost funds could have been used to build 14 new schools or employ 1,440 doctors or 2,580 nurses for five years.
Elizabeth Gardiner, chief executive at Protect, says whistleblowing failures impose significant costs on individuals, employers, and the public: "It is Central Government that is left picking up the pieces of avoidable scandals. Employers are still not listening to whistleblowers or creating cultures where they can speak up safely and effectively."
Joe Powell MP, chair of the APPG on Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax, expressed concern about the human and financial impact of these scandals: "The impact of these scandals on individual people cannot be overstated, it is...
From misinformation around Indian Air Force aircraft crash in Rajasthan’s Churu to false claims of the UAE offering lifetime residency through a Golden Visa for just Dh100,000 for Indian citizens,...