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Trials of a prison whistleblower
BBC Online
29 January 2008
Prison Service vowed the "indefensible" way one of its prison officers was treated for whistleblowing would never happen again.
Yet, at a tribunal in Leeds earlier this month, it appeared the Prison Service had failed to keep that promise.
Now calls are being made for external agencies to intervene to make sure whistleblowers are given the protection they need.
Emma Howie, 35, joined the Prison Service in 1997 and within a few years she was put up for the National Prison Officer of the Year award.
Her career looked promising and it was a job she enjoyed.
However, things soon began to go very wrong after she gave evidence in a disciplinary hearing at Full Sutton, a maximum-security prison near York.
Sent a wreath
By speaking out, Ms Howie had broken an apparent tacit code and earned herself a reputation for being a prison "grass".
She claims her fellow officers then turned on her - a wreath was delivered to her at work, grass cuttings were sent in the post and a colleague spat at her two-year-old son.
As a result, Ms Howie moved to Wakefield prison in the hope she could put the distressing events behind her.
Director General Phil Wheatley said lessons would be learned
But again she found herself in a situation where she had witnessed possible wrongdoing and felt obliged to report it.
So in December 2004, she gave evidence on behalf of a colleague, senior prison officer Carol Lingard, supporting her claims that there was bullying at Wakefield, one of the highest-security prisons in the country.
Mrs Lingard won her claim of unfair dismissal against the Prison Service and was awarded £500,000, believed to be the largest public sector payout for whistleblowing.
During that tribunal the evidence from Mrs Lingard and Ms Howie exposed a culture of victimisation of whistleblowers.
'Never again'
In response, Phil Wheatley, the Prison Service's director general, told BBC's File on Four that Mrs Lingard had been "failed at every level by the organisation".
"This is, from my point of view, a regrettable and indefensible incident and one I don't ever want to recur again at Wakefield or anywhere else," he said.
He said lessons must be learned and complaints must be dealt with "properly and not, as in this case, fail the complainant".
But three years on, a tribunal panel has found that has happened again in the case of Ms Howie.
On 10 January, Leeds Employment Tribunal found in favour of her claim against the Prison Service that she had suffered as a result of reporting wrongdoing.
The tribunal heard Ms Howie believed confidential documents detailing complaints she had made to her bosses were being leaked by a representative for the Prison Officers Association (POA) to another officer.
A 13-month investigation followed but the handling of it was "entirely inadequate", the tribunal found.
It highlighted a report by the Prison Service which identified lessons to be learned from the Lingard case, but said the service had failed to take the recommendations seriously.
The Prison Service had "uttered fine words but failed to carry those through into meaningful actions", it said.
The tribunal concluded a POA representative had been hostile to Ms Howie as a whistleblower, and that her legitimate interests were "entirely ignored". The POA was not available for comment.
Robust policies
The Prison Service said it had sought to robustly defend itself against Ms Howie's allegations and was considering whether to appeal against the judgement.
A spokesman said staff were encouraged to raise concerns about possible wrongdoing or malpractice at work and their managers must ensure they are protected against discrimination or victimisation.
He added there were robust policies in place which were reviewed.
Sadly once again the message sent out to staff as a result of Emma Howie's case is 'don't report wrongdoing as we won't investigate it properly
Solicitor John Sturzaker, who represented Ms Howie at the tribunal, said: "They should have investigated properly and promptly and sent a firm message that hostility towards whistleblowers would not be tolerated.
"Instead, they take forever to investigate and take no action. It sends completely the opposite message.
"Emma Howie is not a troublemaker. She is an ordinary but conscientious person who has repeatedly done the right thing in very difficult circumstances."
Speaking after the judgement in Ms Howie's case, Carol Lingard said: "It's very disappointing that the service does not seem to have learned the lessons from my case.
"Sadly once again the message sent out to staff as a result of Emma Howie's case is 'don't report wrongdoing as we won't investigate it properly, we won't support you and we won't protect you from hostility'.
She added it had to be "put right" and called for "some form of external intervention".
Ms Howie is still employed by the Prison Service. A separate hearing in April will decide on compensation for her.