<div>PLEASE NOTE: This is for friends and family only.  I'd appreciate given the sensitive nature that this wasn't shared without me knowing. &lt;3
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<div>For most of my professional life, I have been in the position of being able to give support rather than ask for it. Prior to the collapse of the video games industry, I consistently donated to others, supported colleagues, and worked to improve conditions within my industry through mentoring, advocacy, and direct help.
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<div>I never expected to be in this position.
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<div>In mid-2025, I received an abusive phone call from a senior industry figure with an estimated personal worth of over £200 million. When I raised concerns about that call, more than 40 individuals contacted me independently, stating that they had experienced similar or more serious behaviour from the same person.   More have come forward since.
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<div>Given the seriousness of what I was being told and the fact that this individual had been appointed as a Chair by the UK Government via the Department for Digital, Culture, Media &amp; Sport (DCMS), I commissioned a whistleblowers’ report at my own expense. The report was intended solely for government consideration and outlined allegations including misuse of public funds, abusive conduct, safeguarding failures, and potential tax irregularities.
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<div>At the time, it was not known that the council this individual had been appointed to was so newly formed that no formal government body yet existed to receive or process the report. My MP has remained actively engaged with Ministers since that point to find an appropriate mechanism for this to happen.
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<div>Rather than offering himself to a confidential, internal investigation, the individual concerned chose to file a High Court claim against me for defamation and malicious falsehood.  This has bought him time to delay investigation and quite likely, exit on his own narrative without investigation at all.
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<div>For the past five months, I have spent extensive time, money, and effort attempting to resolve this matter without litigation. Central to the dispute has been a demand that I provide the names of everyone who came forward, something I have consistently refused to do on moral and safety grounds. Given existing allegations of SLAPP-style intimidation and retaliation, I did not believe it was safe to hand over that information.
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<div>I was also pressured to apologise for the whistleblowers’ report and related statements, despite the ICO later verifying the report as legitimate whistleblowing. The independent, non-biased copywriter who gathered testimony from whistleblowers was herself subjected to months of harassment before the ICO intervened to stop it.
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<div>The reality is that defamation defence is extremely expensive. At the same time, the video games industry has suffered a significant collapse, and I have been out of work for a prolonged period. My savings are exhausted and debt has accrued. While some work is beginning to come in, it is not sufficient to meet the immediate costs of defending a High Court claim.
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<div>The current quotation I have received simply to file my defence is £8,500.
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<div>Over the past months I have spoken with numerous solicitors and barristers, worked with McKenzie Friends, engaged with the Anti-SLAPP Taskforce, and sought help from organisations including the Good Law Project. The consistent position has been that meaningful assistance cannot begin until a defence is filed, and that this work cannot be done for free.
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<div>Compounding this, I have now been advised that if the case proceeds to the evidence stage, between 40 and 60 people may be formally named, including 17 current employees of the claimant. I have spent months trying to keep the burden on myself alone, without alarming or exposing others. I can no longer do that without help.
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<div>This fundraiser exists for one purpose only: to allow me to afford a legal defence.
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<div>I am asking for support so that I can defend myself properly, protect others from being unnecessarily exposed, and ensure that whistleblowing in the public interest is not punished simply because it challenges power.
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Anonymous

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