A senior engineer at the Tyne Tunnels who blew the whistle on alleged “serious regulatory, governance and safety issues” that could have cost the public up to £5 million is taking his former employer to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. Hanson Pottinger, who served as asset manager for tunnel operator TT2, was dismissed in February 2026, months after making the disclosures in summer 2025. He contends his sacking was retaliation for whistleblowing, a claim the employer denies.
Allegations and Disclosures
Tribunal documents obtained by The Chronicle, following an interim hearing earlier this year, state that Mr Pottinger made disclosures in June and July 2025 regarding “serious regulatory, governance and safety issues, with potential financial implications for the public purse estimated between £1m and £5m”. He reported the issues to the North East mayoral authority and to TT2’s lenders in June 2025, then to TT2’s board of directors the following month.
The mayor’s office confirmed that the concerns related to allegedly unauthorised traffic measures put in place during maintenance works on the northbound Tyne Tunnel. These measures, it was alleged, would have allowed TT2 to avoid financial penalties imposed under its contract to operate the crossing. The restrictions involved motorists being blocked from driving freely through the tunnel during the works and being held in queue before being escorted through in a convoy.
Dismissal and Tribunal Proceedings
Mr Pottinger’s skeleton argument states that, in the months following his whistleblowing, TT2 brought 11 allegations of gross misconduct against him. Nine of those were later paused, one resulted in no finding, and he was dismissed in February 2026 for the one remaining – the alleged misuse of a system to access a confidential email. His disclosures came after prior whistleblowing from another individual in December 2024 and January 2025, according to the tribunal documents.
Mr Pottinger, who had been employed by TT2 for 22 years and said he had not been the subject of any prior disciplinary or performance concerns, confirmed to TT2 that he was the whistleblower in November 2025. In its submissions, TT2 states that the reason for his dismissal was “an act of gross misconduct” and that it was investigating whether he was part of a “coordinated malicious attempt to destabilise and/or disrupt” its contract to operate the tunnels.
Responses and Next Steps
In May this year, a judge refused Mr Pottinger’s application for financial relief and ruled that it did not appear likely that the final tribunal hearing would find that the whistleblowing was the reason for his dismissal. The full employment tribunal hearing is yet to take place.
A spokesperson for TT2 said: “TT2 has worked transparently and cooperatively with all parties throughout the investigation of these allegations, including the Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA). The MSA conducted a thorough and comprehensive review of the alleged matters and concluded that the allegations were not substantiated.” The spokesperson added that the Tyne Tunnels “are safe, have always been safe, and will continue to be safe under TT2’s operation and management,” and that TT2 would not comment on ongoing employment tribunal proceedings.
The North East mayoral authority said the Tyne Tunnels “are safe and we remain confident in all the arrangements for managing driver safety”. A spokesperson added: “We investigated the matters within our remit in detail and found no evidence TT2 had concealed information from the MSA about these measures in order to avoid contractual penalties. The conclusion of our investigation was that the allegations investigated were not substantiated.” Mr Pottinger was contacted for comment.
