(1) A person shall not be liable in damages in respect of the making of a protected disclosure.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a person who -

(a) makes a disclosure knowing it to be false or misleading, or

(b) in connection with a disclosure, furnishes information that the person knows to be false or misleading.

(3) The reference in subsection (1) to liability in damages shall be read as including a reference to liability to any other form of relief.

(4) Subsection (1) is in addition to, and not in substitution for, any privilege or defence available in legal proceedings, by virtue of any enactment or rule of law in force immediately before the commencement of this section, in respect of the making of a disclosure by a person to another (whether that other person is an appropriate person or not) of any one or more of the matters specified in paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 38(1).

(5) Subject to any enactment or rule of law, the Bank may not disclose the identity of a person who has made a protected disclosure without first obtaining the person's consent except in so far as it may be necessary -

(a) for the effective investigation of any matter to which the disclosure relates, or

(b) for the purposes of -