Midwife brings claim against trust after ‘Prevent referral over Palestine posts'
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust made the referral to the Home Office's early intervention counter-terrorism programme, along with one to the Nursing and Midwifery Council regulator, a year after Fatimah Mohamied had resigned from her employment and following a complaint about her online activity from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), according to law firm Leigh Day.
The mother-of-two, who lives in London, alleges the referrals breach her rights under the Equality Act 2010 and constitute post-employment harassment and/or discrimination.
She said: 'I have been subjected to a concerted and targeted effort to intimidate, harass and punish me into silence for my Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Zionism.
'I am taking legal action against my former employer to finally seek accountability for a campaign of harassment against me in the midst of a live genocide perpetrated by the Israeli state – I will not accept the attempts to silence me and those like me.
'Healthcare workers in the NHS have the right to critique a colonial political ideology that has upheld an illegal occupation for decades and is responsible for violating universal values of health.'
A complaint was lodged on October 8 2023 about Ms Mohamied's social media posts in which she voiced her support for Palestinian people and her opposition to Zionism in the wake of the October 7 attacks in Israel, according to Leigh Day.
Her line manager asked her to consider deleting the posts or her account but she refused to do so.
Three further complaints were made about the midwife's social media posts and on December 20 2023 the trust received a letter from UKLFI accusing Ms Mohamied of expressing support for Hamas.
In early January the following year, the trust's director of maternity told Ms Mohamied that if they received 'more emails or letters of concern' her actions could be considered misconduct.
Ms Mohamied, who was employed as a 'cultural safety lead' midwife and who had worked at the trust since June 2019, resigned in March last year.
In March of this year, the trust received a second letter from UKLFI which launched further complaints about further social media posts and accused Ms Mohamied of anti-semitism, bullying and harassment and of stirring up racial hatred against Jews and Israelis.
Towards the end of the month, the trust referred Ms Mohamied to the Nursing and Midwifery Council and then to the Metropolitan Police under Prevent over her online activity.
Both referrals were dismissed, and Leigh Day said in a letter to the trust that the regulator and police each assessed Ms Mohamied's posts 'amounted to lawful expression of her beliefs and did not present cause for concern'.
Liana Wood, partner at the law firm, said: 'We say the trust's referrals against Fatimah, made a year after she had stopped working for them, were an entirely disproportionate response to her lawful expressions of belief on her personal blog and social media accounts.
'Fatimah's case, which has parallels with other cases we have seen recently in the NHS, highlights the need for employers to resist pressure from lobby groups in such cases, and to carefully consider any potential infringement on an individual's rights before taking action against them.'
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