Lawyers’ letter published as evidence of Labour ‘crackdown’ in preparation for this weeks BBC ‘documentary’ by reporter with well-documented bias – but was sent in April

Last night, a Murdoch Times journalist tweeted an ‘exclusive’ that Labour had ‘launched a crackdown on whistleblowers’ in the run-up to this week’s ‘bombshell’ BBC documentary claiming to examine whether the Labour Party is antisemitic:

The documentary, by a former BBC reporter with well-attested political issues with Labour, is expected to be a regurgitation of the very same allegations made by the Times based on leaks by disgruntled former staff.

The supposed evidence for this ‘crackdown’ was a letter sent by legal firm Carter Ruck on behalf of the Labour Party to former senior employee Sam Matthews.

The letter warns Mr Matthews that Labour believes Matthews is responsible for a number of ‘selective’ and misleading leaks to media – which are not covered by laws about protected whistleblowing – and gives him until “within seven days of the date of this letter” to respond to the letter’s requirements:

The ‘exclusive’ and the accompanying tweet imply that Labour has taken this action when the Panorama programme was imminent, as a defensive action. The tweet led to the predictable and potentially coordinated campaign of smears against Labour’s attempts to ‘cover up’ antisemitism.

However, while the letter unequivocally refers to a date, no date is visible. An area at the top of the first page has been blocked out:

The SKWAWKBOX can exclusively reveal that, far from being sent as the Panorama documentary grew imminent, it was sent to Matthews around three months ago, in April.

Yet the letter has appeared only now, misleadingly presented.

Whistleblowers are protected for disclosing information, but only if they make the disclosure to an appropriate party – an employer, a legal firm for advice, or a ‘prescribed’, usually statutory, body – but it must be one with recognised responsibility for the issue reported:

SKWAWKBOX view:

Non-disclosure agreements are entirely routine when senior employees leave an organisation. Whistleblower protection laws limit the type of body that the information can be given to. These basics have been ignored in this misrepresented story as the attacks on the Labour Party and its key staff continue.



‘Whistleblowers’ also do not get to destroy information at their former employer’s office to hinder them in dealing with problems and then leak to the media. This happened in the case of departing right-wing staff who, before quitting, shredded thousands of documents relating to disciplinary cases.

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