Disasters
Official inquiries into disasters show time and again that employees had been aware of the danger before the accident, but had either been too scared to blow the whistle or their concerns had been ignored or silenced.
Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster
The Herald of Free Enterprise sank and 193 people died because it had been sailing with its bow doors open. The inquiry found that on five previous occasions staff had reported that this was happening, but that their concerns had got lost in middle management.
Piper Alpha explosion in the North Sea
The official inquiry into Piper Alpha where 167 workers died found that “workers do not want to put their continued employment in jeopardy through raising a safety issue that might embarrass management”.
Clapham Rail Crash
The Hidden inquiry found that a supervisor had noticed the loose wiring in the junction box a couple of months earlier, but said nothing as he did not want to “rock the boat”. 35 passengers died and 500 others were injured.
Maxwell pensions scandal
A couple of years before Maxwell stole £400 million of staff pension money, a print worker was sacked for challenging Maxwell’s misuse of pension funds. Maxwell vowed he would never work in the industry again and in settling the whistleblower's claim for unfair dismissal he insisted on a clause which kept the nature of the wrongdoing secret. Find out more about Maxwell whistleblower Harry Templeton.
Child Abuse
The publication of Lost In Care, the Waterhouse Report into Child Abuse in North Wales, vindicated the actions of Alison Taylor, a care worker who had sought repeatedly but unsuccessfully to blow the whistle internally and to the appropriate authorities about her concerns of an abusive regime in certain care homes. The report recommends that ‘local authorities should establish and conscientiously implement clear whistleblowing procedures’.
Lyme Bay Canoeing disaster
4 school children drowned when a canoeing trip went badly wrong. One of the instructors at the centre had written to the Managing Director weeks before the tragedy warning that “You should have a careful look at your standards of safety. Otherwise you might find yourself trying to explain why someone's son or daughter will not be coming home”. Because he had ignored this graphic warning, the Managing Director was jailed for two years for corporate manslaughter.
£2bn BCCI fraud
The official inquiry into the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) found that the bank had an autocratic environment in which no one dared speak up about their suspicions.
Bristol Royal Infirmary Infant Cardiac Unit
Concerns about the unusually high infant mortality rates in this unit had been raised for a number of years by a consultant anaesthetist Dr Stephen Bolsin. Not long after he ignored the response to “keep the train moving, and not to pull the communication cord,” he found his career in the UK over. Following an investigation into the deaths of 29 babies at the unit, the chief executive and the surgeon were struck off. The Kennedy Report concluded that had the Public Interest Disclosure Act been in force, Dr Bolsin would have been protected. For futher information, click here.
Fraud and Corruption in the European Commission
Paul van Buitenen's concerns about fraud in the EC went unheeded when he raised them repeatedly with senior Commission officials. His disclosures to the European Parliament triggered an independent inquiry into the Commission which vindicated van Buietenen and concluded, “it is becoming difficult to find anyone who has even the slightest sense of responsibility”. As a result, all 20 members of the European Commission resigned. Find out more about Paul van Buitenen.