Christian denied job ‘over his views on LGBT patients’
A DEVOUT Christian had his job as a mental health support worker withdrawn over fears his views on homosexuality could result in vulnerable patients committing suicide, a tribunal heard yesterday.
Felix Ngole, 46, who is also a Pentecostal pastor, was initially offered a job with Leeds-based charity Touchstone, an NHS care provider which is backed by Stonewall, the LGBTQ rights group.
But after bosses googled his name they discovered Mr Ngole had previously posted on Facebook that he believed homosexuality was ‘wicked’ and ‘sinful’.
The charity then felt that Mr Ngole’s Christian values went against its ethos and his beliefs would ‘negatively impact’ vulnerable service users, the hearing was told. Mr Ngole, of Barnsley, was called in for another interview, but despite assurances from the married father-of-three that he would never discriminate or force his views on to anyone, the job offer was withdrawn in 2022.
In a report from Touchstone, read to the hearing in Leeds, an expert gave his opinion that Mr Ngole’s employment could lead to some vulnerable service users committing suicide because of his Christian beliefs.
Mr Ngole said: ‘If just two per cent of it [the report] was correct, that when people see me they might kill themselves, then, I’m telling you, the graveyards in Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster would be full.
‘I have worked with people from the gypsy community, gay people and lesbians. Not long ago, I worked with a transperson and I treated them as a
‘I treat people as human beings’
human being. When I look at a person, I see a human being.’
Kathryn Hart, Touchstone’s deputy chief executive, said she was concerned that Mr Ngole’s ‘viewpoints on LGBTQI+ relationships and same sex marriage would be visible to all and it was of serious concern to me how the claimant’s views could potentially negatively impact the vulnerable service users’.
Cameroon-born Mr Ngole is claiming discrimination against the charity and harassment. The hearing continues.