SFO case manager says raising concerns orally first helped ‘separate wheat from chaff’, ET hears

A manager at the Serious Fraud Office has told the employment tribunal that his instruction to a staff member not to put observations about a case in writing was part of a ‘tiered’ system and not in breach of prosecution codes.

The tribunal in central London is hearing a public interest disclosure and pay claim brought by Philip Jackson, a former investigator. Jackson claims he challenged the approach that observations critical of an investigation should not be emailed as they could potentially be used against the prosecution. He alleges he blew the whistle as the instruction was in breach of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA) code of practice.

The SFO denies the allegations. It claims Jackson’s alleged protected disclosures do not meet that definition and were raised only after his temporary promotion to principal investigator, between December 2022 and November 2023, ended.

Nicholas McLaughlin, who managed the investigation on which Jackson was working, said case records were maintained according to the CPIA code of practice.

In cross examination, McLaughlin added: ‘One of the great challenges in SFO cases is the volume of data and paperwork. From experience if there is not a system in place of how a case is maintained [it can] spiral out of control. If that happens it becomes much more difficult to administer a case into a CPIA compliant way. We had set up a practice recordkeeping methodology. I wanted everyone to follow it.

‘It was a tiered structure wherein there were a series of meeting and a series of documents of increasing order of importance.'

McLaughlin said that if concerns or issues were raised orally initially, the disclosure officer and he could ‘sort the wheat from the chaff’. He told the tribunal concerns or issues considered legitimate would be then progressed to a formal minuted meeting.

‘Everything written down is potentially relevant and has to be dealt with as relevant,' he said. 'Emails should have been used appropriately.' A 'stream of consciousness ...  should not be in the case record, CPIA does not intend for that to happen,’ McLaughlin said.

Speaking about temporary promotions, he said they were ‘very rarely' extended beyond 12 months. ‘It is a temporary promotion, the word temporary is clearly meaningful.’

The hearing continues.