Latest news with #CharlieMullins
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Are the super-rich leaving London? Tax reforms could spur wealth exodus.
LONDON — Not long after the Labour Party swept to power last summer, Charlie Mullins, a British entrepreneur who made his millions in plumbing, packed up and left. 'Britain's just not a good place to do business anymore,' Mullins said in an interview, during a brief stopover in a country he now calls his former home. He now splits his time between two sun-soaked destinations: Spain and Dubai.
Daily Mail
11-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Britain's richest plumber Charlie Mullins blasts new American owners of his former firm after they axed popular apprenticeship scheme
Former Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins has lambasted the maintenance firm's new American owner after they axed the UK company's popular apprenticeship scheme, as countless trainees were on the verge of qualifying. Mr Mullins, himself a former apprentice plumber, founded Pimlico in 1979 before growing the company into a £50million-a-year plumbing, heating and electrical services giant. The 72-year-old eventually sold the London firm to the tune of £140million to Neighborly, which is owned by private equity firm KKR, in 2021. But now he has hit out at the firm's new bosses for their recent move to get rid of their apprenticeship programme, which has trained more than a thousand youngsters since it first launched. Mr Mullins has since revealed he regrets handing over the reigns of the company to the US private equity firm and has offered to fund a legal case by the 16 apprentices who are losing their jobs. Trainees, some of whom were just months away from the point they should have become fully qualified, were offered just half a week's pay for each year of employment, MailOnline has been told - with one saying they'd received just £700. Fabio, a 20-year-old plumbing and heating engineer, revealed he was just months away from completing his scheme when he was laid off. He said Pimlico offered him half a week's pay for each year he had been with them, which would have amounted to between £600 and £700. 'We were working one day when we got a text and were told that our jobs were at risk,' he said. 'Everyone was really stressed out about it and been rushing to try and sort other work. No one in my college or anyone I've spoken to have heard of anything like this happening before.' Twenty-two-year-old Luke, who is also set to begin with WeFix in June, revealed he had only two months left before he was due to finish his apprenticeship when the possibility of redundancies were announced by Pimlico in April. 'I was actually on annual leave the day they scheduled the in office meeting to let everyone know, but I did receive a phone call from my manager after the meeting had finished,' he said. 'It was definitely a shock,' he added: 'It wasn't a good situation but what I've ever really done is just to try and make the best out of a bad situation, and turn a negative into a positive.' The apprentice, who had been working for Pimlico for three years described the situation as 'frustrating' as he was only a couple months away from sitting his final exam. He said he was mainly concerned from a 'financial' perspective as he had completed over 75 percent of his apprenticeship, meaning under government guidance he would still be able to complete his qualification without an employer. Explaining his worries and fears, he added: 'It was more from a financial standpoint and for future building that I did go out and seek employment.' Describing the moment, the redundancies were confirmed on May 2, he said: 'It wasn't as bad as it was when I received the initial news of the proposed redundancy because, I naturally decided okay I'm going to set plans for my future. 'I knew where I stood. I think the more worrying part of the whole situation was not knowing whether you were are being made redundant or not. When you kind of didn't know whether you were coming or going, that was a bit stressful.' Reflecting on his decision to apply to WeFix, he said: 'it's a suiting company. They work in the areas that I've always been used to, and I just saw it as why would I apply anywhere else? 'It was just probably going to be the best fit for me.' Apprentices were first told they were at risk of losing their jobs during a meeting in April. Afterwards a document later circulated largely laying blame on 'increased operating costs' resulting from the increase to National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage. It also cited high energy costs and business rates, as well as the UK's downgraded GDP growth forecast from 1.7 per cent to 1 per cent. 'In summary, current economic conditions, government policy changes, and increased operating costs are all impacting Pimlico financially, hence the proposal to close the apprenticeship programme,' the document stated. Mr Mullins left school aged 15 with no qualifications before becoming an apprentice and starting his own business from a Pimlico estate agent's basement. The company became known for providing services London's rich and famous it went on to boast annual sales of £50million. Glitzy clients have included Liam Gallagher, Daniel Craig, Dame Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley, Jonathan Ross and Chelsea footballers. He has now set up a new home services company, WeFix, and taken on several of the apprentices who were made redundant. Mr Mullins accused Pimlico's new American owners of 'greed' and 'destroying youngsters' futures'. 'This is all about bottom line. And I'm sure that there will be a saving for them, but the future loss will be colossal. 'Without my apprenticeship there would have be no Pimlico and a lot of the guys we took on have gone on to run their own businesses too. So I've always been a big advocate for apprenticeships. 'It's damaging to them as a business and damaging to the apprentices who have put all this time and effort in.' The entrepreneur disputed the claim by management that they had been forced to lay off the apprentices due to rising costs. 'They say it's because NI and the minimum wage have gone up. I'm not disputing that it makes things harder but you don't necessarily cut down on people who are already in the company, particularly when many are towards the end of their programme. 'These people are the company's future. It's also demoralised a lot of other staff, some of whom encouraged their relatives to join up who are now being laid off. 'We took on apprentices within our first year of operation in 1979 and over 1,200 have gone through it. We're not in a position to take all 16 of them on but we're only taking a few. Mr Mullins has previously insisted it was a mistake to sell Pimlico to Neighborly, and repeated this claim today. 'I had other buyers but I picked them on the basis that they were the biggest, so I thought they would be a good outfit. I think this is about preparing the company for a sale. 'I wouldn't have sold it to them if I'd have known this was going to happen. I've learned in business now that many of these American companies aren't interested in anything apart from the bottom line. 'If these people want to get together and take legal action I will happily finance that.'
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Britain's richest plumber Charlie Mullins reveals he's considering a UK return from his tax exile in Spain so he can become a Reform councillor
Charlie Mullins has been inspired by Reform's success in the local elections to renew his plans to return to the UK to stand as a councillor for the party. Britain's richest plumber, who made £145million when he sold Pimlico Plumbers in 2021, is currently sunning himself in Spain and Dubai after fleeing Britain to avoid Labour 's 'tax grab'. The 72-year-old insists he is 'loving life' abroad but would 'undoubtedly' consider coming back to contest a local council election in his native South London. He would also be interested in standing in a by-election for the Commons if one was declared. Mr Mullins, a prominent Reform UK supporter, said he was encouraged by the party's success in local elections across parts of England last week. The poll on May 1 saw Nigel Farage 's party win more than 650 council seats and seize control of 10 councils as Labour and the Tories suffered a grim night. 'The more Reform progress the more I want to get involved with them, and I'd undoubtedly consider coming back for a by-election or to run for a council seat,' he told MailOnline. 'Ideally it would be the area I come from in south-east London, so Bermondsey, Lambeth or Southwark. The business is in Lambeth so it would make sense to be a councillor there. 'It's become run down like many places but if you come from there you know what it takes to get things moving again - they need people who know what it takes to start a business. I have an apartment in Westminster so I'd be happy to try there but I'd imagine that would be harder.' The next local council elections are on May 7, 2026, while a by-elections will only take place if an MP's seat becomes vacant before the next general election, which is currently slated for 2029. Mr Mullins previously announced his interest in trying to become a councillor but told MailOnline he had ditched this plan after being threatened with having his OBE withdrawn over a social media attack on Sir Sadiq Khan. The Honours Forfeiture Committee, which is convened on an ad-hoc basis by the Prime Minister and chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, first accused Mr Mullins of 'bringing the honours system into disrepute' in September over comments dating back to 2022. They said they were 'minded to recommend to His Majesty that your OBE be revoked', citing a controversial X post he made about the Mayor of London as well as allegedly offensive jokes made online and in person. 'I didn't bother to run for a council because I had this threat of Labour trying to take my OBE away from me,' Mr Mullins said. 'So that's why I stepped away from it at that particular time. I wanted to keep away from it. 'But when their lawyers put their evidence through it was absolutely rubbish and about a few things I had put on TV or Twitter.' Mr Mullins and his partner, Malak, currently split their time between a stunning villa in the Costa del Sol and Dubai, where the entrepreneur is currently planning to buy a property. He has always denied wanting to 'run away' from tax and points out that he has been 'paying millions into the system for 50 years'. 'I'm happy to pay and contribute but I'm not happy about the money being wasted,' he said. 'More and more people are leaving the UK. I'm in Dubai at the moment and meeting people who aren't big business people but realise they can be miles better off. 'These local election results show it's no longer a two-horse race and Reform needs to be taken seriously. 'If Nigel Farage comes in I'll be back in the UK tomorrow. I don't think Labour will last their full term.' Mr Mullins recently gave MailOnline an exclusive tour of his sumptuous villa in Mijas Costa, just up the road from Marbella. The four-storey property boasts ensuite bedrooms on each floor, as well as a pool, a rooftop currently being converted into a bar area and a basement games room. The businessman, who heads up a family of 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, also owns a seven seater Land Rover for when 'the kids are in town.' In 2023, Mr Mullins was suspended from X - formerly Twitter - after he wrote 'someone should kill' Mr Khan in a discussion about ULEZ. He was told in March that no action would be taken after he pledged to undertake 'gender sensitivity and diversity training'. Despite the case having been dropped, he has previously blasted Sir Keir for what he insisted was a politically motivated attack sparked by him leaving the UK in anger at the PM's policies. A Government spokesperson said at the time: 'Claims that the Forfeiture Committee is politically motivated are completely unfounded and inaccurate.
Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Mafia gunmen and holiday thugs are ruining our new lives in the sun... we don't want to live in the Costa del Crime
British expats have revealed their anxieties over living in the Costa del Sol, following a massive surge of gang violence. More than 100 mafia groups are said to be operating along this 90 mile stretch of coastline, situated in Spain 's southernmost, and poorest, region of Andalucia. The holiday hotspot has long been a centre of operations for organised crime, thanks to its strategic location as the first port of call for hashish and arms from Africa, and cocaine from South America. But fears of a new turf war are growing following a series of shootings, assassinations and stabbings in the heart of rival territories. British expats told MailOnline this week that they are fed-up with increasingly brazen thugs who are 'tarnishing' the resort's image. Meanwhile, local sources revealed how a years-long rivalry between English, Dutch and other clans is likely behind the escalation of violence. It comes after a 32-year-old Liverpudlian was gunned down in the middle of the street in Mijas on April 21 - just a 20-minute drive from the villa of Charlie Mullins, Britain's richest plumber. The murder happened in a street called Don Jose de Orbaneja Street, where there is a well-known tennis and padel tennis club called Club del Sol as well as a neighbouring holiday resort called Finca Naundrup which has sports facilities. According to sources, things changed in the Costa del Sol with the burning of the Sisu hotel near Marbella's Puerto Banus in August 2020 Timeline of gangland violence December 7: Dutchman, 25, is assassinated by a hitman with an assault rifle on Calle Asturias in Fuengirola. December 24: German man of Arabic origin is shot in the Cristamar shopping centre in Puerto Banus, but escapes with injuries. December 26: Swedish drug traffickers are attacked by a rival clan with assault rifles in Benalmadena, but survive by throwing themselves down an embankment in Arroyo Hondo. January 2: Former Hell's Angel member and ex-MMA fighter Saman Baghi is shot in the anus and testicles outside the Real Padel Gym club in Marbella. February 9: Three British men arrested over alleged Costa del Sol kidnap plot involving cryptocurrency broker in Estepona. April 17: A man is shot in the leg during a family dispute in Portada Alta, Malaga city. Five individuals were arrested. April 18: A 34-year-old man is shot in the shoulder outside a Marbella nightclub at around 4.30am. He was hospitalised and the suspect fled the scene in a car. April 21: A 32-year-old British man is shot to death at around 8.15pm after leaving a football match in Calahonda, Mijas. The assailant flees in a car before ditching and burning the vehicle. April 23: A burned and tied up body is found dumped in a ravine in Mijas, with a hood 'over his head or next to it'. The victim is believed to have been dead for several days. The victim was already dead by the time police and paramedics reached the scene. Locals told cops they had heard between eight and 10 shots being fired. The incident has been described as a gunfight. Two days later, a bound body of a man was found dumped in a ravine, also in Mijas, although authorities believe he had been dead for several days. The corpse was found with a hood 'over the head or next to it' and had been partially burned, suggesting he had been tortured before he was killed. It is not yet confirmed whether the two cases are linked. A week earlier, on Easter Thursday, a man was shot in the shoulder outside a nightclub in Marbella before the attackers fled the scene in a car. That same night, a man was stabbed in the stomach in another Marbella venue. Hours later, a chiringuito in Torremolinos was burned to the ground in a suspected arson attack. There is currently no suggestion that the fire is linked to gang warfare, but beach clubs have been torched in the past as a warning to people who owed money. Monday's British victim was walking home from a football match in Finca Naundrup, Calahonda, when at least one masked man pulled up in a dark-coloured Cupra and opened fire. The Brit died in the car park of the Club del Sol tennis club. An employee, pointing to the murder scene, told MailOnline: 'It happened just over there, I wasn't here but my colleagues told me they heard quite a few shots. 'I didn't know him or that he was a gangster, but they are everywhere… here, Marbella, Puerto Banus, you just never know who is who.' Calahonda and Mijas are filled with apartment blocks, cul-de-sacs and winding streets, making it an ideal place for people who want to lay low. But some of the more dangerous residents are clashing with decent, upstanding expats. One Brit living in Calahonda claimed he and his friend were attacked by a group of Englishmen in a bar two weeks ago. He told MailOnline: 'My friend was visiting me; he is a 62-year-old Swiss social worker, and I am a 74-year-old retired headmaster. The guys were in their 20s and sounded Liverpudlian. The former MMA fighter (pictured) became a high-profile target due to the sheer amount of money he owed Pictured is the moment that firefighters tried to put a huge blaze out at Marbella club Sisu in 2020 'The barmaid gave them free shots of Jagermeister and one hit my friend with the shot glass. 'He has three deep gashes on his forehead, a black eye, a broken front tooth and concussion. 'The manager of the bar drove us to Marbella hospital, but just dumped us outside. Then the bar attempted a cover up of the story. 'The local police came but were useless and the four attackers just got away. Incidents like this spoil the lovely Calahonda. 'It was very scary… my friend was lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the bar floor.' The Brit added: 'People do not want these incidents reported as it damages the reputation of the Costa del Sol.' The car used in Monday's suspected gangland murder was found dumped and set on fire on the outskirts of Calahonda, with at least one gun inside. There have been no arrests. The murder happened in a street called Don Jose de Orbaneja Street, where there is a well-known tennis and padel tennis club called Club del Sol as well as a neighbouring holiday resort called Finca Naundrup (pictured) According to Spanish newspaper ABC, the vehicle had German number plates. This could be significant to the investigation, according to a local journalist who has lived along the coast for more than three decades. The source, who has rubbed shoulders with leading cartel members, asked not to be named for security reasons. He told MailOnline: 'If the plates were German that points to the hit being carried out by the Mocro Maffia. 'The killing would have been a settling of scores and to send a message. 'If you are killed like that you either stole from a cartel, owe them a lot of money or did something to really tick them off. 'Often, small-time drug dealers in the UK think they can move to Marbella and set up operations without problems. 'If I'm a gangster in Rochdale or wherever, and I see pictures of luxury beach clubs and Lamborghinis, I'm going to move there, but these little guys get in trouble with the big dogs. 'Most of the time, they don't want to kill them, they just want them off their turf, they don't realise they're dealing with very serious people.' The Mocro Maffia refers to a network of highly organised crime gangs, primarily made up of Dutch-Moroccans, and which are run out of the Netherlands and Belgium. The Mocro Maffia specialises in drug trafficking, particularly cocaine, money laundering and assassinations, and is known for its violent turf wars. The Costa del Sol is no different, with the Dutch reportedly having taken over key locations from the English and Irish in recent years. According to the source, things changed with the burning of the Sisu hotel near Marbella's Puerto Banus in August 2020. The site was long rumoured to be a meeting point for criminals, particularly the British and Irish. It was left completely destroyed by the blaze, which investigators found had three different starting points - although its high-tech security cameras are still attached and operational. Police said three French nationals had been seen filling up canisters with petrol nearby, just moments before the fire began. 'Since then, the English and Irish have been more based in Mijas, La Cala de Mijas and Calahonda,' the source added, 'while the Mocro Maffia have gained ground in Nueva Andalucia, Puerto Banus and Marbella, which have coincidentally seen a surge in Moroccan barbers and shisha bars.' The Real Gym and Padel Tennis Club that sits directly behind the Sisu has seen its own fair share of violence over the past year. On January 2, a German man of Arabic origin was shot in the anus and testicles as he exited the building. Former Hell's Angel member and ex-MMA fighter Saman Baghi, 34, allegedly 'owed money to everyone', resulting in him becoming a target. The Mocro Maffia is one of the most feared and powerful gangs in Europe. It is estimated to generate €20billion per year in the Netherlands alone, according to Dutch investigator Pieter Tops. But they are just one of more than 100 mafias operating along the Costa del Sol, including the Italians, Colombians and eastern Europeans. But the newest kids on the block are the Albanians, according to police sources from UDYCO - a specialised task force created to tackle the scourge of drug trafficking. Speaking to national newspaper La Razon in February, they said the Albanians are 'fighting tooth and nail for the throne' with the Mocro Maffia. They explained how there has been an increase in violence between clans since the start of 2025 due to the falling prices of cocaine, which, within a year, have plummeted from €30,000 per kilo to as low as €17,000. This is causing an increase in so-called 'vuelcos', which see gangs steal drug shipments from their rivals and sell them on. According to UDYCO sources, these robberies result in revenge hits being ordered, which is made all the more easier by the military grade weapons flooding into Spain through Africa. More alarmingly, teenage boys are allegedly being recruited by the Mocro Maffia to carry out such assassinations. In November 2024, GRECO and UDYCO dismantled a cell in Alicante that recruited minors from Sweden and Denmark through a Telegram channel to commit murders and bomb attacks. The leader was a Swedish boy of Moroccan origin, aged just 14 years old. Their modus operandi was to smuggle a minor into Spain with an assault rifle to 'shoot indiscriminately' at rivals. They charged between €15,000 and €50,000 per 'job'. A 17-year-old was also arrested in May last year after traveling from Sweden to Spain to kill a member of a rival motorcycle gang. The police sources claimed that the top mafia bosses are no longer living on the Costa del Sol, but prefer to run their operations from Dubai, which has no extradition treaty, going so far as to label the city the 'epicentre' of drug traffickers. 'Dubai's drug lords are the ones who run the market. They tell their lieutenants how much drugs they should bring in each month, and that's it. They enjoy luxury and impunity,' they said. The leaders of the Kinahan cartel are thought to have moved to Dubai in 2016, where they currently remain in hiding after international authorities placed a joint €15m bounty on their heads. But Spain's southern coast will always be a hotbed of criminality thanks to its strategic location. Alongside Galicia in the north, it acts as the first port of call for Europe-bound cocaine from South America. The Colombians are even using submarines to smuggle the white powder across the Atlantic, before unloading it onto smaller vessels at sea, which then ferry it up river streams in Andalucia. Meanwhile, tonnes of hashish are transported across the Gibraltar Strait from Africa, before being dumped along the Costa del Sol, and increasingly as far north as the Costa Blanca and Barcelona. Such distances are now possible thanks to 'floating petrol stations', which are effectively boat crews hired by cartels to sit and wait in the sea with canisters of petrol, allowing delivery vessels to refuel. The sheer relentlessness of the cartels has, at times, left authorities in Spain overwhelmed, both at the local and regional level. This week, following the spike in violence, politicians in Estepona blasted a 'serious security deficit' caused by the falling number of local police officers. In a statement, the PSOE party criticised how the force, which numbered 190 officers back in 2011, has since fallen to 120, despite the town's population having grown from 64,000 to almost 79,000. The demand for more police on the beat came following a shootout between squatters in the area of Cancelada on Tuesday. The street was placed on lockdown after around a dozen squatters who were kicked out of a home returned with guns and fired off rounds of shots. Footage shared with MailOnline shows a man in a blue tracksuit running down a street while being chased by men in black uniforms. They then begin fighting him while others catch up and join in the ruckus, including a woman in a green tracksuit who is thrown to the floor. The shootout sparked a major response from Spanish police, who sealed off the area and enacted a lockdown. The alleged shooters fled the scene in a vehicle and remain wanted by police. There were no reported injuries. Meanwhile, in Marbella, the city council led by Mayor Angeles Muñoz is continuing to ramp up security measures. There are now more than 360 surveillance cameras covering the resort, while this week it announced it is trialling body cameras for police officers, which will stream live to the city's central command post. Mijas town hall did not respond to a request for a comment on its security plan. Costa del Sol turns on British tourists: Fed-up Malaga locals tell holidaymakers to 'f*** off from here' in new anti-tourism campaign after Tenerife was hit by similar graffiti by GERARD COUZENS Residents on Spain 's Costa del Sol have become the latest to vent their fury over the way tourism has affected their lives, with angry stickers being plastered on holiday let flats. Angry locals in Tenerife made their feelings clear earlier this month with graffiti calling for tourists to go home in and around the southern resort of Palm Mar. Now people living in the centre of Malaga have become the latest to raise their voice against the problems caused by the hordes of visitors they say have impacted on their lives. Stickers have appeared in the town, which is popular with British holidaymakers, over the front of tourist apartment blocks with messages in Spanish saying: 'f*** off from here' and 'stinking of tourists.' Others that have appeared, alluding to the same problems expressed by Tenerife residents about the lack of affordable accommodation caused by mass tourism, say: 'This used to be my house' and 'A family used to live here'. Locals have been coming up with alternatives revolving around the AT signs on the front of holiday apartment blocks, short for Apartamento Turistico in Spanish, in a play on words game A Malaga bar owner who was recently told he had to leave the home he has lived in for the past ten years so it can be used by tourists staying on short-term lets, has been linked to the campaign. He recently organised a social media initiative proposing customers come up with alternatives revolving around the AT signs on the front of holiday apartment blocks, short for Apartamento Turistico in Spanish, in a play on words game. They came up with imaginative proposals which included 'A Tu puta casa' and ApesTando a Turista - Spanish for 'f*** off home' and 'stinking of tourist.' The bar owner, known as Dani Drunko, said overnight as he admitted things had got a 'bit out of hand': 'Everyone has joined the cause and got really involved, so much so that they're printing off stickers and putting them all over streets in the centre. Revealing his own accommodation plight and saying he had friends in the same boat, he told respected Malaga-based paper Sur: 'I live in a neighbourhood of Malaga called Fuente Olletas and was told a few weeks ago the owner wouldn't be renewing my rental contract and I had to leave because the property was going to readapted for tourist lets. 'Every day I'm receiving photos of new stickers and people that are making it go viral. There's a lot of movement because citizens are sick of the situation. I only proposed the idea of the phrases, I lit the fuse.' 'MY MISERY YOUR PARADISE': Canary Islanders are apparently annoyed that people's holidays are ruining their home Dani Perez, Secretary General of the left-wing PSOE party in Malaga, flagging up one of the stickers plastered over a tourist apartment block with coded key holders by the front door, said in a blast on X formerly Twitter: 'All this used to be the centre, as this sticker says next to several tourist apartments. 'You walk along the streets of Malaga and it's practically impossible to find a residential building which hasn't got a padlock and passcode.' He added in an attack on Malaga's right-wing mayor Paco de la Torre: 'Malaga's mayor is not lifting a finger for the people who live here, expelling them from the city where they were born.' Mr Drunko, whose bar Drunk-O-Rama is famed as one of the best places to go out at night in Malaga and offers live music, tried to distance himself today from the idea he was being anti-tourist after the rude stickers were publicised in local press. He said: 'We would like to point out that we have nothing against tourists or tourism but are opposed to being kicked out of our homes to make way for tourist apartments and the fact that the town hall, which belongs to all of Malaga's people, doesn't do anything.' Critic Juan Luis Gomez, a Costa del Sol based lawyer, responded by saying: 'The same people who are against tourism then want work, as if we depended here for our livelihoods on the aerospace industry. 'It's one thing to regulate tourism and another to reject tourism.' But another local added in a sarcastic-laden post on X formerly Twitter: 'Who would have thought that kicking people out of their homes so they could be used as tourist apartments was going to produce a negative impact from local people about them.' The messages in English left earlier this month on walls and benches in and around Palm Mar in southern Tenerife included 'My misery your paradise' and 'Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200 euros.' Locals have complained they face rising rents pushed by the lack of affordable housing because so many properties are rented only to tourists on short-term lets. Like the Canary Islands, the Costa del Sol is one of the most popular areas for British holidaymakers in Spain. In February last year Malaga approved fines of up to £650 for revellers caught walking around naked, carrying inflatable sex dolls or wearing huge plastic penises on their heads. By-laws in the Costa del Sol capital already banned the use of megaphones or the consumption of alcohol on the street.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The treatment of Charlie Mullins proves that there's no free speech if you're Right-wing
Should people be penalised for supposedly harming an institution's reputation? How, exactly, is that harm to be measured? Does it only count if it brings an institution into disrepute in the eyes of right-thinking people? Two people this week have run afoul of this standard. One is Charlie Mullins, the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, who got away with a warning. The other, Ben Woods, who ran the wine counter at the Henley branch of Waitrose, was not so lucky. He was fired yesterday after working there for 25 years. The difficulty with applying this rule is that, because it's so subjective – what counts as 'harm'? – the investigators' political bias inevitably intrudes, with the threshold of what constitutes 'gross misconduct' rising or falling according to whether the social media posts in question – and it nearly always is social media posts – express robust Right-wing or robust Left-wing views. If you doubt this, ask yourself whether Charlie Mullins would have received a letter from the honours forfeiture committee informing him it was minded to rescind his OBE if he had criticised Boris Johnson rather than Sadiq Khan. Would Ben Woods have lost his job if, instead of posting supposedly offensive memes about Muslims, he had done so about Christians? At the Free Speech Union, the organisation I founded five years ago, we've fought over 3,500 cases – people who've found themselves in trouble for exercising their right to lawful free speech. Not all of them have been placed under investigation – or fired – for dissenting from radical progressive orthodoxy. We've defended a handful of people for their outspoken defence of the Palestinian cause since October 7. But it's not an exaggeration to say that 95 per cent of them have got into trouble for saying something coded as 'Right-wing', including feminists who believe in the biological reality of sex, who make up about 40 per cent of our case load. In the metropolitan echo chambers where these investigations into reputational harm take place – with KCs often being pressed into service – the same double standards apply as they do in our criminal justice system. Post something criticising the Rwanda policy or Big Oil or Nigel Farage, and you'll suffer no penalty, however many people complain. Criticise illegal immigration or net zero or Jess Phillips, and you're for the high jump, even if just one person complains. Indeed, one complaint from a woke activist is often all it takes. 'See,' the equity, diversity and inclusion officer will say. 'What this person said has lowered our reputation in the eyes of this complainant. We have no choice but to launch a six-month investigation.' In one recent FSU case, a man lost his job at Severn Trent water company after describing Hamas as 'violent and disgusting'. Had he said the same about the IDF, I believe he may still have his job. This punishment of people with unfashionable opinions is particularly egregious when it comes to the honours system, since honours flow from the monarch who is supposed to stand above partisan politics. The investigation of Charlie Mullins sends a message to all the other MBEs, CBEs, OBEs, Sirs, Dames and Peers out there – express an unequivocally Right-wing view on social media and your honour may be taken away. In the birthplace of parliamentary democracy, a nation that prides itself on inventing free speech, this is not how it should be. If anyone has brought the honours system into disrepute it is not Charlie Mullins. It is the forfeiture committee. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
