FCA defends whistleblowing processes after admitting legal slip-up

The Financial Conduct Authority has defended its conduct towards whistleblowers today after officials wrongly dismissed a plea for protection and apologised for misinterpreting laws. The watchdog apologised to a whistleblower this week after it wrongly dismissed their complaints on the grounds the person they had waived their right to anonymity, a decision which has no basis in law. Officials at the FCA formally apologised to the whistleblower after being approached for comment by City A.M. Speaking with reporters today, officials admitted the mistake had been made in their handling of the case but sa “I do want to take this opportunity to sincerely apologise for the distress we caused that individual as a result of our mistake,” Sheree Howard, the watchdog’s executive director of risk and compliance said. An official dismissed the calls in March on the grounds that the complainant was “no longer entitled to the protections offered under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998” – the laws governing whistleblowing - because the had waived their anonymity. Speaking with City A.M. on condition of anonymity, the whistleblower claimed they had been treated with “contempt” and left vulnerable to retribution from the firm. The watchdog has faced question over the protections afforded to whistleblowers in recent months after a report from whistleblower body Protect found that 70 per cent were either victimised, dismissed or felt resignation was the only option open to them after raising the alarm. When questioned by City A.M. on whether the watchdog had failed to adequately protect whistleblowers, the FCA’s co-head of enforcement and market oversight said he was “always happy to look at our approach on whistleblowing”. “We are see[ing] if we can develop and strengthen the protections,” he said. “I do come back to that I think from a FCA perspective, we do have some good protections in place to protect the the confidentiality and the anonymity of the whistleblower.” Earlier this year, the government committed to a review of the protections afforded to whistleblowers in the UK. The review has looked to “take stock of whether the whistleblowing framework is operating effectively and protects those who call out wrongdoing in the workplace,” Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said at the time.