According to figures published by the regulator, the volume of whistleblowing reports submitted in the UK climbed by almost 30% in the first quarter of the year, reaching a record high of 355. Despite the surge, the number of cases closed by the FCA fell compared with the previous quarter, raising fresh questions about the regulator’s capacity to act swiftly on intelligence from insiders.

The development comes less than a year after the FCA pledged to accelerate its handling of whistleblower reports, following a similar spike in volumes during its previous financial year. In October, the regulator said it had “made several improvements” to the process to manage what it described as a record-breaking inflow of reports.

Linsday Nicholls, the FCA’s whistleblowing manager, said the organisation would “continue to build on these improvements to be a smarter regulator”.

The FCA assesses every report falling within its remit to identify potential harm to consumers, markets, the wider UK economy or society.

Industry experts say the reasons behind the rise are not clear-cut. Pauline Lépissier, a partner at Devonshires, told City AM that it is “hard to establish exactly” what is driving the increase. She suggested it could reflect a genuine uptick in misconduct, or simply that whistleblowing has become more mainstream as high-profile cases have raised public awareness of the process.

Ms Lépissier also called for legislative reform, arguing that the existing framework offers insufficient protection for those who come forward. She described the UK’s whistleblowing laws as “hopelessly out of date”, noting that the only recourse currently available to whistleblowers is a claim before an employment tribunal.

Without tougher safeguards, including potential criminal sanctions against those who retaliate, she warned that some individuals would continue to choose “the safety of silence”.

The FCA has previously indicated that financial incentives for whistleblowers are also under discussion, mirroring approaches adopted by regulators in the United States.