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Civil Servant “Forced to Resign for Supporting Reform on Facebook”

by Will Jones
27 November 2024 9:00 AM

A civil servant said she felt forced to resign from her job at the Department of Work and Pensions after being investigated for sharing posts from Reform U.K. on her personal Facebook account. The Times has the story.

Michelle Cochrane, 45, who had been working as an administration officer at the DWP since July 2021 said she ran into trouble with her employer when she started sharing social media posts that were critical of Labour in June and July this year.

The posts related to immigration, the early release of prisoners and the handling of public finances by Labour.

There were 14 posts in total, including 11 from Reform, one by the U.K. Independence Party, one including a Daily Express news article and one post from Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform.

One post by Reform featured a picture of people on a boat at sea wearing life jackets and read “watch the population explosion in real time” and “Britain needs Reform”.

Cochrane, from Blyth, Northumberland, added a comment to another post by Reform, reading, “time not just to limit it, but end it”.

Despite the posts being on her personal Facebook account — which made no reference to her work or employers — Cochrane was told in August that she would face a disciplinary hearing.

She was told that an investigation would be undertaken into the posts she shared and she would probably be dismissed if she was found to have committed gross misconduct

During the disciplinary hearing in October Cochrane argued that she had a right to “freedom of speech” and claimed other colleagues had shared posts from other political parties without facing repercussions.

The civil servant said she felt “railroaded” into resigning as she felt her dismissal was a “foregone conclusion”, saying she wanted to protect her mental health from the “traumatic” episode.

Worth reading in full.

Tags: BiasCancel CultureCensorshipCivil ServiceFree SpeechReform

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28 Comments
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soundofreason
soundofreason
8 months ago

At the disciplinary meeting a member of staff said there had been an internal email in May which reminded staff they should not discuss politics on any work or personal platforms.

Outrageous overreach.

Who was the member of staff who remembered there had been an e-mail in May? Who sent the e-mail and to whom? Records should reveal this.

‘Reminding’ implies it was previously a rule and was known by staff but recognised as being breached.

How can any employer justify a ban on the discussion of politics on personal platforms?

34
0
For a fist full of roubles
For a fist full of roubles
8 months ago
Reply to  soundofreason

Not politics in general, they only want to ban anything they don’t agree with and they leave it up to the staff to divine what that is.

23
0
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
8 months ago
Reply to  For a fist full of roubles

Exactly, and as she said they ignored the posts by colleagues when they posted from the Uniparties.

8
0
Gezza England
Gezza England
8 months ago
Reply to  Ron Smith

And were no doubt happy for them to follow the call of the unions to display the flag of the terrorists of Palestine during the little time they do spend at the office.

6
0
WithASmallC
WithASmallC
8 months ago
Reply to  soundofreason

And where does politics begin or end? Government policy, local council policy, parish matters? Can she discuss a proposed new housing estate in her town or have an opinion on the high street Christmas decorations?

18
0
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
8 months ago
Reply to  WithASmallC

As long as she doesn’t frustrate the will of the people….Oh wait!

3
0
JDee
JDee
8 months ago
Reply to  soundofreason

They justify it in the catch all of bringing the employer into some perceived disrepute. This is the magic in all employment contracts which enables this authoritarianism.

14
0
RTSC
RTSC
8 months ago
Reply to  soundofreason

In 2010 or thereabouts, when I was still a Civil Servant, I applied for permission to stand for election as a councillor, representing UKIP. It was given and, standing as a paper candidate, I came an unexpected second in the vote.

There is no prohibition in the CS Code for a CS engaging in politics providing it isn’t at a National Level (ie standing as an MP) or directly linked to the Dept they are employed in.

I suppose the Code may have been changed since then but judging from the number of CS who engage in Labour Party politics, I very much doubt it.

Looks like someone in her Dept has “over-reached.” But she’s probably best off out anyway, it must be torture working in the CS if you’re not a raving Eco Nutter and/or Marxist.

0
0
Lockdown Sceptic
Lockdown Sceptic
8 months ago

Civil Servant Sacked for Wrong Think 

25
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Smudger
Smudger
8 months ago
Reply to  Lockdown Sceptic

She resigned which is a shame. Never let the bar stewards grind you down.

2
0
GroundhogDayAgain
GroundhogDayAgain
8 months ago

Not a legal expert but I think her mistake was to resign.

Stick to your guns: nothing wrong with having a political opinion, nothing I said is illegal or defamatory, you have no grounds for my persecution. Let them sack you and show their true nastiness.

This sounds like a case for Toby and the FSU. I hope she didn’t weaken her case by leaving of her own accord.

33
0
soundofreason
soundofreason
8 months ago
Reply to  GroundhogDayAgain

I think ‘constructive dismissal’ is still a thing. (I’m also not a lawyer).

I can certainly imagine that the lady feared that ‘dismissed’ would look worse on her CV than ‘resigned’.

18
0
RTSC
RTSC
8 months ago
Reply to  GroundhogDayAgain

Sounds like a case for Constructive Dismissal. Her working life would have been made pure torture by the Eco Nutters and Marxists who infest the CS.

3
0
Smudger
Smudger
8 months ago
Reply to  RTSC

Bullying in the workplace is an allegation all managers take seriously – whatever your political persuasion. If she had claimed she was being bullied they would possibly have backed off.

0
0
Heretic
Heretic
8 months ago

And in the news today, Judge Jeremy Richardson, King’s Counsel, lacing his comments with Left Wing Political Views, declared that HATS ARE RACIST in sentencing a British Protester Against the Murder of British Children to six years in prison, plus 3 more on licence after that, saying the protester was easily identified by

” a distinctive ST. GEORGE’S FLAG BUCKET HAT he was wearing.”

“Judge Richardson said the HAT gave the lie to the defendant’s claims that he had NO RACIST INTENT when he attended the disorder at the hotel.

“He told Greenwood: “I’m entirely satisfied you went to the area of the hotel with a view to participating in RACIST MOB VIOLENCE.”

“YOU TOOK A HAT AND WORE THAT HAT WHICH UNDOUBTEDLY HAD RACIST CONNOTATIONS.”

Some public comments:

— “So here we have a Crown Court Judge in England openly stating that wearing a hat with the flag of our country is in itself Racist…
Unbelievable.”

— “Six years! I thought I had been born in a serious country with an illustrious past…
And an exemplary legal system…”

[So Palestinian and Terrorist Flags are fine, but the Flag of England is racist???
and HATS ARE RACIST???]

Rioter who lit fire in hotel car park during mob violence jailed for six years

Meanwhile:
Parents of boy, 14, who was killed in a ‘hit-and-run crash’ just days before his birthday say they’re now fighting for justice after his ‘killer’s charges were dropped’ | Daily Mail Online

The hit & run killer was an Ethnic African “carer”, so that’s alright then…

Last edited 8 months ago by Heretic
20
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FerdIII
FerdIII
8 months ago
Reply to  Heretic

” a distinctive ST. GEORGE’S FLAG BUCKET HAT he was wearing.”

The totalitarians have spent a generation equating St George with racism and nazism (ironic).

The next judge will say ‘you are white and you brought your skin colour to the demonstration which is proof that you were going to engage in mob violence aganst a poor defenceless black-muslim-mass murdering-illegal-criminal who targeted whites for death.’

10
0
Heretic
Heretic
8 months ago
Reply to  FerdIII

You are spot on. And the real reason the Globalist Totalitarians, and particularly Muslims, hate the Flag of England is because it was The Flag of the Crusaders.

The reason that flag is flown from the Protestant Church of England towers is not because it is the Flag of England, but because it is the Flag of the Resurrection, which any vicar worth his salt will tell you. You can see that flag here in most of these 50 paintings:

The Resurrection of Christ | 50 Famous Paintings | LearnFromMasters (HD) – YouTube

Last edited 8 months ago by Heretic
3
0
Epi
Epi
8 months ago
Reply to  Heretic

Alright is not all right. 😉

1
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
8 months ago

Admit it to yourself you live in a nation of effwits. So if you have a job and you want to keep it then the best survival strategy is to keep your mouth shut and sit there seething with resentment and righteous indignation. Taste the humiliation of having to attend unconscious bias re-education seminars. Laugh at politically correct jokes only. This is a tawdry culture that can’t bear to look at itself in the face despite all the infantilisation and silly talk. They have no understanding of what is coming when they come into conflict with something far more vital and purposeful.

4
0
Heretic
Heretic
8 months ago

Just for comparison to the case of the Indigenous British civil servant Michelle Cochrane, forced to resign for supporting a political party with 5 seats in Parliament…

Ex-HMRC officer helped husband launder £3.3m to fund lavish holidays and a Bentley

“Ex-HM Revenue & Customs worker Kuldip Badesha, 46, used government systems to produce letters with National Insurance numbers and signatures so her husband Ranbir Singh could open fraudulent bank accounts.”

“Badesha, from Chatham, Kent, met Singh just before he was jailed for 11 years for kidnap in 2008. They continued their relationship while he was in prison, tying the knot when he was on weekend release in May 2013.”

“HMRC today accused Badesha of an “appalling breach of trust,” adding that she had “abused her position” as a compliance officer.”

“She was handed a 14-MONTH SUSPENDED PRISON SENTENCE after pleading guilty to gross misconduct in public office at Southwark Crown Court. Her husband was jailed for six years. He was already serving a six-year sentence for fraud, money laundering and sexual assault.”

[*** Both of them are Ethnic Indian Sikhs, so that’s alright then that the woman got off lightly. Notice that her Sikh husband’s six-year sentence for fraud, money laundering and sexual assault is the same as the sentence given to The English Protester who wore a Racist Hat.]

Last edited 8 months ago by Heretic
6
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
8 months ago

The biggest DWP fraud by a long way was detected and discovered to be a Bulgarian thing. They got locked up but they consider a few years in prison worth it for what they got away with. Governments all over the world laugh about how they don’t need to worry about their criminal classes anymore because they can be shipped to England as economic migrants, such is the thirst for the bottom of the barrel of cheap labour. I am all for the quick buck but was it really worth it?

2
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
8 months ago

What are the real entities holfing England together? I would say kebab shops. A lot of people might say bad things about immigration but if you told the average punter that kebab shops would disappear then they would change their tune in an instant. To be able to bu a doner kebab at 2am doesn’t sound like a big deal but believe me with the average Brit it counts for a lot more than your highfalutin nonsense. And I include myself in those who would never allow a kebab van to disappear. There is simply no subtitute.

1
0
Willsywoo44
Willsywoo44
8 months ago
Reply to  Jabby Mcstiff

Are you being serious? I couldn’t be sure.

0
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
8 months ago

The curry contains soothing spices that the British need without knowing it. Turmeric, ginger, cumin. You would not be able to live without these things believe me in the climate now. Whether you like it or not you are addicted to the Indians and the Indians look after you as best they can.

1
-1
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
8 months ago

If these things were gone: kebabs, curries, black men, I would have no life at all not even an existence. I don’t want to praise them but I want to recognise their necessity.

1
-1
thechap
thechap
8 months ago
Reply to  Jabby Mcstiff

Were you drunk when you posted this..??

Last edited 8 months ago by thechap
1
0
Willsywoo44
Willsywoo44
8 months ago
Reply to  thechap

Quite!

0
0
marebobowl
marebobowl
8 months ago

I thought this country was short of people who wanted to work. What actually is going on in the Uk?

0
0

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