Christine Pratt was a name none of us had heard of before Sunday. She is the woman from the National Bullying Helpline that told the BBC her charity had received calls from employees in Downing Street.

When I heard this on the news before going to bed last [...]]]>

Pratt on BBC News last night

Christine Pratt was a name none of us had heard of before Sunday. She is the woman from the National Bullying Helpline that told the BBC her charity had received calls from employees in Downing Street.

When I heard this on the news before going to bed last night I thought to myself “now, if I were being bullied, who would I trust?” The answer is most certainly not the National Bullying Helpline. Why did this woman risk the confidentiality of callers by revealing their nature to the press, without contacting the employer directly in the first instance?

The answer can only be publicity. But when you look deeper, for example on the homepage of the National Bullying Helpline, there are some rather ringing endorsements for Pratt’s charity.

Ann Widdecombe MP, and David Cameron MP, both Conservatives, have endorsed the helpline in big blue writing on the homepage. Cllr Mary O’Connor of Hillingdon Council is a patron, oh, and another Tory. Pratt has never been a member of a political party, though we don’t know what other support she’s shown any parties.

But the joke gets better. How does the National Bullying Helpline help those being bullied? The obvious answer, we already know, is to flag it up on BBC News, but that can only be for political gain. We have to assume that in all other cases Ms Pratt would employ her “TIM”…

Our Product Suite is T.I.M ; Training, Investigations and Mediation.

Which still begs the question, why the hell did you blab quite so loudly to the BBC? Is that classed as training? Investigation? Mediation? More like putting the cat amongst the pigeons. Letting the shit hit the fan. Yeah, that kind of thing.

So, if you’re being bullied, in the first instance try a Trade Union. The following morning, this was Ms Pratt’s spin, and the headline from BBC News.

“Over recent months we have had several inquiries from staff within Gordon Brown’s office.
“Some have downloaded information; some have actually called our helpline directly and I have spoken to staff in his office.”
Christine Pratt

Professor Carey Cooper, an expert on workplace stress, stands down as a patron of the National Bullying Helpline on the grounds that founder Christine Pratt had breached confidentiality.
BBC News

The head of the National Bullying Helpline says it received no complaints about Gordon Brown himself.
BBC News

And by the time the 6 o’clock News was ready to roll, we had another headline:

Another patron of the National Bullying Helpline, the TV presenter Sarah Caywood has stood down. She said she felt she had to resign after details of confidential phone calls were made public.
BBC News