‘Police gave my identity away’ claims Preston drugs whistleblower

The man has now made a formal complaint to the police watchdog over what he feels was a breach of the data protection laws by Lancashire Constabulary.

The force has admitted it is dealing with the issue after the former worker at the city centre bar complained his personal details should not have been made public.

"I'm shocked the police told them who'd tipped them off," he stormed.

"I was only trying to get them to check the place out and now this has made things very difficult for me."

The man, who we will not be identifying, called police to report the bar for what he claimed was an unwillingness by staff to clamp down on drug taking and also under-age drinking.

He said police told him officers, some in plain clothes, had visited the premises, but had found no evidence.

"When I asked one officer why she told them it was me who made the complaint she said she hadn't. Then she admitted that the bar owner had asked if was me and she had said 'yes.' So clearly they did identify me.

"If this is the way the police are going to treat anonymous tip-offs from the public then they won't get anyone coming forward.

"I did it because I was concerned what was going on there. I used to work there and I know.

"The police say they haven't found any evidence, but that doesn't mean it's not going on.

"I don't take drugs - I'm anti-drugs - but I know people who have bought stuff in there.

"I have also seen kids in there who are clearly under-age. It's a joke if they say it isn't happening."

The whistleblower put in a complaint to Lancashire Police and, after waiting for a response he also contacted the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to ask them to investigate the force's behaviour.

A police spokesman said: "We have recorded a complaint and we are now considering how we will examine and investigate the allegation made."

An IOPC spokesman said that, while it oversees the police complaints system, it was for forces to record complaints and decide if they need to be referred.