Issy Vine, a former 999 call handler and Metropolitan Police whistleblower, has officially founded a new organisation to support current and former employees of public and emergency services.
Speak Up Now UK has been established as a Community Interest Company (CIC), which they claim is committed to amplifying the voices of underrepresented and marginalised individuals within the public and emergency services.
Issy has created the organisation as a response to her own experience speaking publicly against the Metropolitan Police. Now, she is suing the police over their mishandling of an incident that took place in April 2023.
During one of her shifts as a 999 call handler, Issy recounted a fellow call handler making a series of derogatory comments. The colleague was heard describing a rape victim as a “slut”, suggesting that immigrants should “fuck off back” to their own country, and making multiple inappropriate comments about Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who was tragically murdered in 2021 by a serving police officer. The event sparked national outcry regarding the safety of women and police accountability in the UK.
Issy’s colleague was fired for gross misconduct in November 2023. This should have been the end of the story. But shortly after, the perpetrator was rehired after appealing the decision.
The Met said the “discriminatory comments” had been “entirely unacceptable” but that the outcome of the misconduct process had been “subject to a thorough review”. Issy recalls her bosses telling her that the original disciplinary panel had been too heavily influenced by the Casey Review, which found the Met to be institutionally misogynistic, racist, and homophobic.
By December 2023, Issy left the role, claiming constructive dismissal.
Since then, Issy has been championing reform not only in the Metropolitan police but in all public and emergency services. The police whistleblower has been spreading awareness on her social media, calling for a public statutory inquiry, and now founding an organisation to help fellow whistleblowers.
Issy said: “There is systematic misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and racism. It’s very cultural, but I feel like they can’t keep making reports of that. There needs to be a way to move forward and for people to speak out. We need to look at why people can’t speak out and what are the policies silencing employees like me?”
Issy said that there were very few pathways to inform someone about what she had experienced in April 2023.
“When you want to speak out against wrongdoing, you don’t want to call an internal hotline (which is the only pathway the Met police had on offer), you want it to be external and feel safe. But when these services are controlled by the organisation you work for, you just don’t know if they will do the job they say they will do.”
“I guess that is what led me to Speak Up Now UK, it began as a website for people to share their testimonies. But when I wasn’t getting anywhere for further employment, I thought maybe I could help other people…I thought I could make it a charity or CIC.”
Issy said: “I’m really proud of it and we’ve had so many testimonies of people’s experiences, and we have a wellbeing team on hand to help. We’re also introducing something called The Hub, where people can get financial support”.
“It breaks my heart when people are so economically intertwined with their employer”, Issy said.
“I get so many messages from people saying that they see wrongdoing and can’t speak out because they have a mortgage and a family to think of.”
Issy said she wants to continue to create a safe space that acts as a safety net for whistleblowers. So that when people try to do the right thing, Speak Up Now UK can help. Eventually, Issy wants to offer financial hardship services, legal assistance, media assistance, and wellbeing all in one place.
Currently, Issy works with a small and dedicated team, curated with individuals who have lived experience of working in public services and speaking out.
Issy said: “I feel like when you have staff with lived experience, there is so much passion to help. They understand because they know what effect the experience has.”
Their focus is on providing workshops to public services as well as universities and colleges.
Issy added that, at present, the organisation’s efforts are directed towards raising awareness of their role as a resource available to those in emergency and public services.
On their website, you can find out more about the organisation’s mission, the team, and how to engage with the group.
You can read testimonies from current and past public service employees and learn more about their whistleblowing reform campaign. There is also access to training, workshops, and talks on whistleblowing rights. You can support the group through their crowdfunding efforts or by purchasing merchandise.
Moving forward, Issy wants Speak Up Now UK to do more to protect and empower those who speak out against wrongdoing.
Speak Up Now UK is calling on the government to abolish current misconduct processes and replace them with an independent body to investigate all misconduct in public and emergency services. They are also calling for all public and emergency services to be required to offer external non-biased whistleblowing workshops.
They hope to soon begin production on a docuseries that will feature the harrowing and often untold stories of whistleblowers.
Issy said the goal is to raise national awareness, push for systematic change, and show that whistleblowers are not the problem…they are the solution.
Even though Issy’s life has changed drastically since becoming a whistleblower, she is now more determined than ever to turn it into something positive.
“I think because I spoke about my personal stories, it got Speak Up Now UK traction, but I’m hoping after time it moves away from me because I don’t want it to be about me. I want it to be about everyone else and everyone else’s stories.”
“No struggle will ever make me regret what I’ve done. I know I’m helping so many people…I know it will be a success.”
