Threat of £18m fines to protect whistleblowers

FIRMS would face multi-millionpound fines for forcing whistleblowers out of their jobs and covering up wrongdoing, under a proposed new law.

Tory MP Mary Robinson wants to establish a whistleblowing tsar to stand up for employees who find themselves bullied, blacklisted or sacked for raising the alarm.

Whistleblowers have been vital in exposing NHS scandals, child sex abuse and major frauds, yet many have faced losing their livelihoods.

The Bill, which will be launched in Parliament on Tuesday, proposes slapping firms with fines of £18million or ten per cent of their global turnover for such behaviour.