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UK introduces far reaching law to protect whistleblowers

BMJ 1999; 319 doi: 10.1136/bmj.319.7201.7 (Published 3 July 1999)
Cite this as: BMJ 1999;319:7.1

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  1. Clare Dyer, legal correspondent
  1. BMJ

    A new law to protect UK employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing or malpractice at work came into force this week. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, described by US campaigners as “the most far reaching whistleblower law in the world,” comes in the wake of the Bristol heart surgery case and other medical tragedies.

    Introduced as a private member's bill by the Conservative MP Richard Shepherd, the legislation owes much to the work of the Freedom of Information Campaign and the charity Public Concern at Work, which offers free legal advice to employees concerned about serious malpractice.

    The Labour government has enthusiastically …

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