Wot some prominent Tories say:

Theresa May
‘If you look at the various layers of this issue, ?gagging clauses that try to prevent workers from whistleblowing, ie disclosing wrongdoing in the workplace to the relevant authority – are not ?legally valid or enforceable’

Maria Miller: Chair, Women and Equalities Committee
‘[NDAs] must not be used to prevent or dissuade victims from reporting incidents as is clearly the case now. We expect proper regulation of NDAs and that any unethical practices lead to strong and appropriate sanctions.'

Ruth Davidson: Scottish Conservatives
‘When does a legal instrument, designed to help both parties, become a tool for the weak to be beaten by the strong? ... There is a tragic irony
in cases where gagging clauses are sought because of an abuse of power, only for that power to be abused again to buy someone’s silence.’

(Cheers for that link, Jim)

This "legal" bit. Two blokes in suits from the company showed up at my house. They initially offered me a quarter of what I finally ended up with and a sixth of what I'd asked for. I told them that Mrs Steve would hack off my family jewels if I agreed to that. When we finally got to the agreed figure (two-thirds of what I'd asked for), they presented me with a sheet of A4 that was amateurishly typed out, requiring me to promise not to disclose the fact that they'd paid me money. They didn't even come ready to give me a copy.   There was the company heading but not a scintilla of a hint that this was in any way legally valid. Of course I took the bloody money. They SHOULD have been paying me that money but without the bind. Had the bind not been there, the good will would have been far greater. My wife knew every detail of the transaction and the events leading up to it and was bound by nothing. The whole thing was a farce. Signing the piece of paper caused me no inconvenience whatsoever so of course I took the bloody dough. I don't want to hear anybody here trying to tell me that they wouldn't have done the same (were I to disclose the sum, I can cast-iron guarantee that!). I wonder how many of the deals done by Weinstein and Green were of the same ilk. Most of them, I should think. I perfectly understand that commercial secrets may need to be protected and that no-one should be disclosing information that compromises national security. But this stuff should absolutely stop there. Buying people off to prevent embarrassment to companies or individuals is shoddy and should be verboten. Let's take the money and blab if we want to. That would serve real justice far better than the shabby behaviour by powerful individuals and companies some people here are defending.