I have no idea if John Torode used racist language – but here's why he's being treated worse than a serial killer

The Sun

6 days ago

MASTERCHEF presenter John Torode has been sacked over an upheld allegation that he used 'an extremely offensive racist term' at a works party seven years ago.
Yet 59-year-old Torode insists he has 'no recollection' of the incident, does not believe it happened and it seems that no official complaint was made.
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Curiouser and curiouser.
Curiouser still is that it's been reported he only learned of the 'upheld' accusation a couple of weeks ago, suggesting that he wasn't given the chance to robustly defend himself before the ­damning verdict was delivered.
Indeed, in an updated statement issued late last night, he revealed that no one had contacted him to say he was sacked and added: 'The enquiry could not even state the date or year of when I am meant to have said something wrong.'
Up to now, all attention has been on his co-presenter Gregg Wallace, the main focus of the report instigated by MasterChef production company Banijay and also sacked after 45 of the 83 complaints about his behaviour were upheld.
So Torode's involvement has come as a shock.
He wasn't named in the report's findings, but outed himself as one of two other anonymous individuals against whom an allegation had been upheld.
He said: 'The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards.
'I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it ­happened.'
But now he's been sacked and it's unclear whether we will ever know the full truth behind the claim.
But what I do know is that the secrecy that ­surrounds a lot of these ­corporate investigations — be it conducted internally by the HR department or, in this case, an external legal firm — makes it hard for an accused individual to fight their ­innocence.
A friend of mine was recently drummed out of a job he loved for 'bullying' a colleague.
John Torode breaks silence on MasterChef co-star Gregg Wallace accusations
He was the subject of an internal 'investigation', throughout which he wasn't allowed to know the name of his accuser nor the detail of their claims, for fear it might identify them.
What the hell? Even serial killers get to see the evidence against them and put up a defence in court.
But in the world of corporate HR, it seems that a Caesar-like thumbs up or down is delivered on someone's reputation and career without the chance to mount a robust challenge.
How, pray tell, can you refute potentially career-damaging allegations when you don't know the accuser, the time, the place and the alleged transgression?
It's like Stasi East Germany.
In the end, my friend knew the game was up.
It was clear they wanted rid of him, so the cherry on the cake of confection was that he accepted a deal to go quietly without a stain on his previously good character.
Astonishingly, a source claims Torode was asked by Banijay to step down from his role for reasons of 'mental health', but he refused.
Presumably because he felt he had done nothing wrong.
But now Banijay has sacked him anyway, a move backed by the BBC which says 'it takes this upheld finding very seriously. We will not tolerate racist ­language of any kind . . .'
Look, I don't know Torode and have no idea if he used racist language or not.
But surely he should have been given a chance to see any evidence (if it exists) and refute it?
You might think, who cares? He's a highly paid TV personality with a public platform upon which to defend himself.
But that's not the point.
If it can happen to Torode then it can, and does, happen to those who aren't in the public eye too.
It may well be long overdue and deserved, as seems the case with the multiple complaints against Wallace.
But equally, it could be a single, unsubstantiated complaint by someone who simply doesn't like you, or an internal, fabricated witch-hunt by a firm that just wants rid of you.
IT'S ALL GOING TO POT
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IT'S par for the course these day for feckless oiks to steal cars, luxury items from shops and parcels from our doorsteps.
But now there's a new petty crime to ­contend with.
Research shows that we are facing a plant theft epidemic, with two thirds of us having trees, shrubs and flowers stolen from our gardens.
At the weekend, I bought a small olive tree for outside my front door – along with a bike lock to stop it being nicked.
Is nothing sacred any more?
LEGO'S MY TYPE
LEGO has been voted one of the best toys of all time. Hear, hear. You're never too old to enjoy it.
And to prove it, here's the Lego typewriter (and yes, it works) I have spent the past four ­evenings building.
Who needs therapy?
HARRY IS A CUT ABOVE
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THIS is the first photo of the new Harry Potter – played by Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin in the forthcoming HBO TV series.
Meanwhile, the number of unofficial Harry Potter shops across the country shows no sign of abating.
There are 13 in London alone, Cambridge has three, and the original one is in York, where many believe the city's famous street The ­Shambles was the ­inspiration for Diagon Alley.
But, dismissing this claim, Harry's creator JK Rowling tweeted that his 'true birthplace' – i.e. where she first put pen to paper – is actually a flat above what was once a sports shop in Clapham Junction and is now home to a men's hairdressing salon.
I walked past it yesterday and there's still no sign of a blue plaque or even a 'Harry Potter haircut' special.
It can only be a matter of time.
SCHOOL RULES
ST JULIAN'S in Portugal – Lisbon 's oldest British school – successfully banned mobile phones a decade ago.
Others followed suit for pupils up to the age of 12 and have reported a 59 per cent fall in bullying and 57 per cent drop in disruptive incidents.
Now the Portuguese government is to ban smartphones in all junior schools.
Excelente. The statistics speak for themselves.
The only mystery is why the UK hasn't yet followed suit.
TAXI, PLEASE, FOR 'CELEB' GABRIELLA
SOMEONE called Gabriella Bardsley has been caught drink-driving.
Who? I hear you cry. And well you might.
For 23-year-old Gabriella, is the step-daughter of former footballer Phil Bardsley, now assistant manager of Macclesfield.
And part of her mitigation in court was to claim that her 'quasi-celebrity' status forced her to flee a party in her car after someone recognised her from reality show The Bardsley Bunch (nope, me neither) and made hurtful jibes.
Hmmm. I have questions.
If she'd driven there, why was she drinking in the first place?