A UK sewage worker was reportedly dismissed after sending a message on an internal staff site condemning Hamas as "disgusting terrorists." Damon Joshua, an employee of Severn Trent Water (STW), was immediately suspended and later dismissed without notice following a disciplinary hearing. In his post, where he included an image of the Israeli flag, Joshua wrote: “One year ago, our valued partners and friends, Israel, were horrifically attacked by a group of violent and disgusting terrorists. I can say the vast majority of STW employees stand in solidarity with our Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist colleagues against the evil of Islamist terror.” The post was removed after some employees complained that the language was “derogatory” and “one-sided.” Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph , Joshua described the swift actions taken against him: “I made the post at 7:50 a.m. By 1 pm I was called into a meeting, suspended, and later dismissed. They said my words were ‘derogatory’—but how can opposing a terrorist group be one-sided?” Joshua later appealed his dismissal for gross misconduct, but his appeal was unsuccessful. A spokesperson for Severn Trent Water stated: “This is a complex employee relations case. It is important to note that this is not the full story nor an isolated incident.” The case has sparked debate over free speech in the workplace and the boundaries of political expression in professional settings.
