In August 2024, a former employee who left the FCA some years ago made an allegation publicly that, in the course of whistleblowing, their identity was not kept confidential by the chair of the FCA, Ashley Alder.
Following the first public allegation, a second former employee of the FCA, who also left some years ago, came forward with a similar allegation as to the handling of their whistleblowing communication to the chair.
In line with the corporate governance of the FCA, the board’s senior independent director, Richard Lloyd, carried out an internal review of the handling of the two individuals’ whistleblowing communications by the chair. Mr Lloyd obtained assurances that there were no other cases that should be brought within the scope of his review.
In the review published today, Mr Lloyd concludes that while the FCA’s chair did not follow our existing policy to the letter in handling two complex cases, he had sought to ensure the concerns raised, if appropriate, were acted on. The FCA’s chair, Ashley Alder, therefore consulted senior colleagues confident they would treat the information with the utmost care. Mr Lloyd also concludes the chair reasonably took the view that he was providing information of which those colleagues were already aware.
Mr Lloyd has made recommendations to further strengthen our internal whistleblowing policy. This includes making clear in the rare instances of whistleblowing requiring escalation to non-executives, communications will need to be shared with appropriate internal or external expert advisers on a confidential ‘need to know’ basis so they can be reviewed fully.
These changes will be made as part of a review of the internal whistleblowing policy, which was already underway. A revised policy is due to be published shortly. In the meantime, board members and senior colleagues have been reminded of our existing policy.
In response to Mr Lloyd’s review, Ashley Alder, the FCA’s chair, says:
‘I take our responsibilities to whistleblowers very seriously.
‘These were unusual and complex cases involving two employees who had left the FCA some years ago and who have raised a range of issues over an extended period of time, in one case through multiple public channels. I wanted to ensure that, as non-executive chair, I was in the best position to act on the concerns of both individuals.
‘To do so, I needed to consult an extremely limited number of senior colleagues and, while I did not follow the policy to the letter, I knew that they would treat all information with utmost care, and there would be no risk of prejudice to the individuals involved.
‘The board was already overseeing work to update our whistleblowing policy to ensure it best serves our objectives and all employees who rely on it.
‘This review will help us update those aspects which concern information handling, including making crystal clear that, in circumstances similar to these two cases, non-executive directors must be able to access internal senior advice at the outset.
‘I remain committed to ensuring that all FCA employees retain the utmost confidence in our whistleblowing policy.’