Home Office worker sacked for sharing post by Richard Tice
Gary Costin, who had spent 15 years working for government contractors Mitie and G4S, was dismissed after a complaint about the message, which raised concerns about a Muslim lobbying group.
In his post on X, Mr Tice, who was the leader of Reform UK at the time, had reacted to an article by GB News revealing that members of the Home Office's Islamic staff network sought to 'influence policymakers' to support 'Muslim needs'.
A link to the post, which had already been captioned 'Uh oh', was then forwarded on by Mr Costin. The 57-year-old was then suspended, in April last year.
Mr Costin, whose job was to remove some of the most violent foreign-born criminals from the UK, was then dismissed by Mitie despite the company accepting that he had not intended to cause any offence.
The case will raise fresh questions about freedom of speech and follows rows about political correctness inside the department.
During 15 years spent working for Home Office contractors, Mr Costin led teams that escorted foreign criminals on to flights back to their country of origin.
This work involved taking murderers, rapists, drug dealers and other offenders back to countries including Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
But Mr Costin 'lost almost everything' after forwarding a single message he had received to a small WhatsApp group chat on April 14 2024.
A list of the Islamic network's aims that had been seen by GB News included 'promote a clear understanding of generic Islam' and 'providing advice and guidance to senior civil service management on religious issues that affect Muslim staff'.
In response, Mr Tice wrote: 'SHOCKING REVELATIONS: Large Islamic Network inside Home Office, now suspended, appears to have been deliberately undermining government policy.
'How many other departments have similar? Answers needed urgently. Possible national security issues at stake.'
Mr Costin did not add any remarks of his own to the message he sent to the group chat.
The following day, he learnt he had been suspended after an anonymous complaint to Mitie's whistleblowing hotline.
He was later sacked after an anonymous co-worker claimed that by sharing the message, he had 'spread hatred' towards Muslims and that this was tantamount to 'bullying'.
The complainant is also understood to have described the forwarded post as 'an insult to all my Muslim colleagues', adding it had 'done nothing but spread hate'.
No upset meant
Ahead of a disciplinary hearing, Mitie claimed in a series of formal letters to Mr Costin that he had breached its social media and disciplinary policies 'by being potentially discriminating (sic)' and inappropriate.
The company accepted during the hearing that Mr Costin did not mean to upset anyone, but it went on to argue that this was irrelevant.
Mitie went on to claim that sharing the image was or could be 'perceived as offensive and racist by others'.
Mr Costin said: 'I have lost almost everything. I have nothing whatsoever against Muslims.
'It was a purely factual message, on a small WhatsApp group we used to share information relevant to our work.
'It was normal to post news headlines that could affect overseas removals. I have absolutely no idea how anyone could see it as spreading hatred or bullying.'
Mr Costin served as an armourer with the Royal Electric and Mechanical Engineers in Iraq, Northern Ireland and Kosovo, leaving with a good conduct medal before beginning his work for G4S and then Mitie.
In 2018, he had a central role in a high-profile case in which the deportation of a gang rapist was thwarted by fellow plane passengers.
A video on YouTube shows Mr Costin, who could not reveal the man's criminal record because of data protection laws, reasoning with passengers who were demanding the release of the deportee.
'All I want is to clear my name'
Mr Costin added that the loss of his job and income had almost cost him his marriage to Dawn, an air hostess.
'I nearly lost, sorry, nearly lost my marriage,' he told Talk TV, fighting back tears. 'I lost my job. It's been hard. I had a decent car, which I've had to sell to keep my head above water. I could have lost my home.'
'A year on, I am still devastated – I never intended to cause any offence to anyone,' he said.
He said the sacking drove him to depression.
'At the time, colleagues were frequently sharing news stories, including about the Rwanda scheme.
'I have probably not been given half a dozen jobs which I have applied for because as soon as they [employers] see the post, everyone sort of goes, 'Oh my God', and then doesn't want to hire me,' he said.
'I have lost my confidence. All I want is to clear my name.'
Mr Costin added: 'I've just fought it with the help of my wife.'
It follows several similar cases where employers have sacked staff over their support of Reform. Last week it emerged that Waitrose had suspended a wine expert for supporting Reform on social media and sharing a Matt cartoon from The Telegraph.
Earlier this year, a housing officer was sacked for being a Reform UK candidate and reposting a Matt cartoon from The Telegraph.
Toby Young, the secretary general of the Free Speech Union, said: 'Gary should never have been sacked for sharing a tweet by Richard Tice in a workplace group chat.
'He certainly wouldn't have been if he'd shared a tweet by Sir Keir Starmer or [Sir] Ed Davey. Had he decided to make a claim for unfair dismissal in the employment tribunal, I think he would have had a very strong case.'
A spokesman for Mitie said: 'We don't comment on individual cases but there is zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any type in our business.'
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