Saturday, August 22, 2009

UK Government uses code of conduct to deny human rights.


Dear All

Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right, except if you happen to work for the UK Government.

A civil servant who campaigned strongly against Worcestershire Conservative MP Julie Kirkbride has been unfairly sacked for using his legal right in law to speak out.

Mark France was sacked by managers at the Jobcentre in Bromsgrove, for gross misconduct.

The Department for Work and Pensions used its unfair code of conduct to deny him his legal rights because he engaged in political activities.

Let us be clear; he worked in a jobcentre.

Julie Kirkbride was a poster girl during the expenses scandal as both she and her husband Andrew Mackay both claimed second home allowances on both their homes, that way they effectively lived rent free with the taxpayer picking up the bill for repairs etc.
Although legal through the House of Commons rules; it was morally distasteful in my opinion.

In the village of Bromsgrove, ordinary people some linked to a political party have spoken out and organised a 'Get rid of Kirkbride Campaign'.

Due to the media pressure, Kirkbride decided to step down at the next election.

She was also criticised after the newspaper the News of the World revealed her brother lived rent-free in her constituency home and her sister did secretarial work for her despite living more than 100 miles (160 kilometres) from her Bromsgrove constituency.

Her husband, a Cameron aide fell on his sword and has already declared he is standing down.

So, the Department for Work and Pensions probably with one eye on pleasing their future Tory Masters have acted to sack Mark France.

It said he had broken its Civil Service Code by ‘speaking about politics on live national television, campaigning for signatures, making statements to the media, standing as an independent candidate in local elections without permission, and making comments on a politics website’.

In other words the legal rights he is guaranteed in law don’t apply if you work for the UK Government, despite the fact they are supposed to defend them .

Mr France said he is considering an appeal and said;

"I certainly didn't think that by speaking my mind in a democracy that it would lead me to lose my job”.

Unfortunately Mr. France didn’t realise that Britain is a corrupt country where the Government uses internal rules to circumvent the law.

He added;

"Everybody should be free to express their opinion. I think it's an issue of human rights."

He is quite correct, it is a human rights issue and I wish him well if he challenges it in a tribunal or a Court of Law. Lord Denning, the great English Law Lord once opined that an unfair contract wasn't legally valid, and no contract by law can remove human rights even with the consent of a person.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

No comments: