‘Whistleblowing’ judge wins landmark appeal at Supreme Court

A judge, who says she was bullied and had a breakdown after speaking out about government cuts, has won a landmark appeal at the Supreme Court.

The court ruled District Judge Claire Gilham could be classified as a “worker” and was therefore entitled to whistleblowing protection.

This means she can now have her case heard at an employment tribunal.

Five Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously in her favour, in contrary to a Court of Appeal ruling from 2017.

Speaking after the ruling, Judge Gilham said: “Winning is a great relief after these seven long years.

“Ethically I always knew that my point was right: that judges should have human rights protections.

“You can’t have justice without independent and unafraid judges, and if judges can’t speak out to protect the court system, then justice suffers and the people caught up in the system suffer too.”

She had raised the matter of a lack of secure court rooms, a severely increased workload and administrative failures with her senior court staff, following major cuts to the Ministry of Justice budget from 2010.

The judge, who sat at Warrington County Court in Cheshire, claimed that as a result of her complaints, she was seriously bullied, ignored and undermined by her fellow judges and court staff.

She was informed that her workload and concerns were simply a “personal working style choice” and inadequate steps were taken to support her return to work, she said.

She also said her health severely deteriorated, resulting in psychiatric injury and she was signed off work due to stress from the end of January 2013 but has recently returned.