WHISTLE BLOWER

A term applied to insiders who go public with allegations of misconduct or illegalities. In the United States, individuals who make unauthorized disclosures of this type have statutory protection from retaliation from their employers and from associated litigation. Many intelligence agencies provide an alternative route for channeling internal complaints without risking the release of classified information. In Great Britain, the appointment of a staff counselor who can guarantee anonymity to personnel anxious to express concern about their duties was included in the 1989 Security Service Act which regulated MI5 and placed the organization on a statutory footing for the first time since its creation in 1909.