Has the UK government put a review of UK whistleblowing law in the hands of management accountants Grant Thornton?

Dr Minh Alexander NHS whistleblower and retired consultant psychiatrist 1 August 2023

On 27 March 2023 the UK government announced a review of UK whistleblowing law.

It indicated that the junior minister responsible for this project was Kevin Hollinrake MP, who had not long been appointed:

Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake who called for whistleblower “incentives” is now in a ministerial role, launching a review of UK whistleblowing law

Hollinrake was formerly a member of the pro bounty Whistleblowing APPG which was set up with money from US bounting hunting law firm, Constantine Cannon.

The government stated in its announcement that it would seek evidence from a range of parties, including whistleblowers:

“The review will seek views and evidence from whistleblowers, key charities, employers and regulators.”

However, there has been no transparency about how this will be achieved and no means of contributing evidence have been made public.

I have written both to the Department of Business and Trade and to the Cabinet Office to seek clarification, but have received no answers.

I have now been informed that the government in fact hired the management accountants Grant Thornton to undertake the review on its behalf.

That a matter of UK law of great public interest should be placed in private hands is surprising and of concern.

According to its UK website, Grant Thornton sells whistleblowing compliance services.

“Our whistle-blower reporting program is an independent, investigative ethics service operated by our multi-disciplinary team of forensic accounting and investigative professionals. Our security consultants have experience dealing with personal and corporate safety, and security concerns that may be identified by callers.”

Should a company which profits from the whistleblowing industry really be conducting a review of UK whistleblowing law?

Moreover, in common with other similar large corporations, Grant Thornton has been repeatedly fined both here and abroad for breaches of audit standards.

The UK Financial Reporting Council lists some of its sanctions against Grant Thornton.

The decision notices and related documents about some of the breaches for which the FRC has fined Grant Thornton can be found through these links:

05 November 2021 Sports Direct International plc

10 August 2021 Interserve plc

29 July 2021 Patisserie Holdings plc

26 March 2020 Conviviality Retail plc

05 November 2019 A publicly listed company

09 July 2018 Nichols plc and the University of Salford

29 March 2017 AssetCo plc

Also of concern, the Whistleblowing APPG’s controversial secretariat, the the private company WhistleblowersUK,, has suggested publicly that it has access to the government’s review process:

This raises a question of whether the government’s review is being conducted fairly and inclusively.

It is especially a concern given that WhistleblowersUK are pro bounty. The company recently made this very clear:

Qui Tam. A tale of malicious informants and corruption in ye Olde England. And its evolution to the modern bounty hunting model

Moreover, WhistleblowersUK and Grant Thornton hosted an event “The Future of Whistleblowing”, just four days BEFORE the government’s announced its review of UK whistleblowing law.

The event was co-sponsored by Kohn Kohn & Colapinto, a huge and powerful US law firm which has made a fortune out of the US bounty hunting arrangements. A partner, Stephen Kohn, spoke at the Whistleblowing APPG’s event.

Grant Thornton published a blog from this event, which featured this passage on whistleblower rewards (bounties):

There have been other events, showing links between Grant Thornton and the Whistleblowing APPG.

NAVEX Global, another corporation linked with the Whistleblowing APPG and WhistleblowersUK, promoted this event attended by Whistleblowing APPG members and Grant Thornton on the Whistleblowing APPG’s pro bounty Bill:

I asked Grant Thornton for information on the timetable for the whistleblowing law review and how evidence is being collected and marshalled for the review.

I received a reply from Steve Donaghy, Director of Forensic, Grant Thornton who gave no information about Grant Thornton’s role but directed me to the Department of Business and Trade.

Donaghy has however, supplied a contact email address for the relevant team at the Department of Business and Trade:

whistleblowing.framework.review@beis.gov.uk

Moreover, I understand from another source that a point of contact at the Department of Business and Trade for the whistleblowing law review is

Sara Wallin.

Her direct email address: sara.wallin@beis.gov.uk

Her LinkedIn profile states that she is/was a Departmental Assistant Director.

I suggest that any parties who oppose the US bounty hunting model, which the Whistleblowing APPG and its associates are pursuing, let the government know of their views via the above email addresses.

The Department will be asked for more information about its review and how Grant Thornton were hired.

UPDATE

These are follow up posts on these matters:

Department for Business and Trade confirms it has hired private contractor Grant Thornton to undertake a review of UK whistleblowing law

The government’s outsourced and so far inaccessible review of UK whistleblowing law: The Players