Home Office deportation worker is sacked for sharing post by Reform UK MP Richard Tice on Whatsapp
A Home Office deportation worker was sacked for sharing a post made by Reform UK MP Richard Tice in reaction to a GB News article.
A Home Office deportation worker was sacked for sharing a post made by Reform UK MP Richard Tice in reaction to a GB News article.
Gary Costin said he lost everything when he was accused of spreading hatred and fired following a complaint about a message he shared on Whatsapp.
In a post on X from 2024, Tice, the Reform leader at the time, commented on a GB News article titled: How Home Office Islamic Network aims to recruit Muslim staff and influence policymakers from the inside.
The piece by the outlet, known for its anti-foreign right-wing stance, pointed to Home Office documents showing that a group of more than 700 civil servants aimed to make policy more inclusive of Muslim needs.
They also planned to provide advice and guidance to senior civil service management on religious issues that affect Muslim staff.
The inflammatory article conflated Islam with Islamic extremism and quoted an anonymous Home Office worker.
Mr Costin, who had spent 15 years working for government contractors G4S and Mitie, forwarded a screenshot of Tices post, which had already been captioned Uh oh.
The 57-year-old was then suspended in April last year, although he had not added any of his own comments when sending the message forward to the Whatsapp group.
Gary Costin (pictured), 57, was fired after sharing a post made by Reform MP Richard Tice
A screenshot of the message forwarded by Mr Costin in the Whatsapp group chat
In letters to Mr Costin, Mitie said he had breached its social media and disciplinary policies by being potentially discriminating.
The post by Reforms Tice read: 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 was suspended the following day after an anonymous complaint was made to Mities whistleblowing hotline.
The co-worker claimed the message was shared to spread hatred towards Muslims, which they argued was bullying.
It is understood the complainant also described the post as an insult to all my Muslim colleagues, adding it had done nothing but spread hate, The Telegraph reported.
During a disciplinary hearing, Mitie accepted that Mr Costin had not intended to cause upset, but argued this was irrelevant as the image was or could be perceived as offensive and racist by others.
Mr Costin, whose job was to deport foreign-born criminals from the UK, said: I have lost almost everything. I have nothing whatsoever against Muslims.
Mr Tice (pictured) was Reform UK leader when he posted in reaction to a GB News article
Mr Costin told Talk TV that the ordeal had affected his mental health, his marriage and his financial situation
It was a purely factual message on a small WhatsApp group we used to share information relevant to our work.
He added that the loss of his job has made him depressed and nearly resulted in the end of his marriage to Dawn, an air hostess.
Mr Costin told TalkTV: I lost my job. Its been hard. I had a decent car, which Ive 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.
Mr Costin said he has lost his confidence and been rejected by half a dozen jobs after potential employers see the post and decline to take his application further.
As of March last year, there were a total of 18,220 UK civil servants who identified as Muslim.
The latest figures show Christianity is the most common religion among civil servants, with 166,140 civil service workers declaring they were Christian in 2024.