PROJECT XI

TOMORROW I GO TO UK PARLIAMENT Tomorrow, 2 November, I will walk into the whistleblower summit of the @appgonifandffs on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services. I have 60 seconds to speak. The event asks why we must protect the wellbeing of whistleblowers. It is dedicated to the memory of Simon Andriesz @SAndriesz. I wrote an eight-minute speech and practised it. Then came the message. So many people wanted to speak that we needed to share the time. My slot is now one minute. Cutting eight minutes to 60 seconds was hard. But I understand. Every person in that room has a story that deserves to be heard. For my minute, I chose Simon, who spent 35 years working in financial markets. My own fight with @rsagroup Insurance, @IntactInsurance UK and the Financial Ombudsman Service @financialombuds gets its turn next time. On 2 November, it is about Simon and the disgraceful way @theFCA treated him. In August, his friend John Robertson @J_Robertson_UK put us in touch. Simon contacted me and we spoke. I wrote about his case and published it on 12 August. It got some attention. On 23 September, Simon took his own life. Two days later, I posted about his death on X. That post received more than 700k views. On 4 October, Congressman @RepThomasMassie quoted it, bringing another 800k views. Newspapers picked up the story. It reached people around the world. Then came the Financial Conduct Authority’s promise of a review. MPs called for an independent investigation. The first question at the FCA Annual Public Meeting was about Simon. Simon had spent years trying to get the regulator, the courts and the press to listen. After his death, his story reached a worldwide audience. Then came the responses he had needed while he was alive. That is a disgrace. Tomorrow, we will talk about protecting whistleblowers’ wellbeing. That starts with how we respond when someone asks us to listen. My inbox is full of messages from whistleblowers and people who have suffered wrongdoing. Behind each message is a person waiting for someone to take them seriously. A reply takes 2 minutes. For someone who has spent years being ignored, it can mean a lot. If a whistleblower writes to you, answer them. Make time for the conversation while they are here to have it. Tomorrow, I have 60 seconds. I will use them to ask people to remember Simon Andriesz, and to listen to those still asking for help. If this moves you, share his name. @stevemiddi1 @appgonifandffs @andyverity @jameshurley @MLorrM @Wftproof @JohnCleese @J_Robertson_UK @nw_nicholas @sharmilaxx @johncock_wayne @TransparencyTF