Boss sacked for cruel rant at George sues for ‘discrimination against her beliefs’
A BRITISH Council manager who attacked Prince George as a symbol of ‘white privilege’ is suing her former employer amid claims that she was sacked over her republican beliefs.
Angela Gibbins, the organisation’s £80,000-a-year head of global estates, was suspended and later fired after her Facebook tirade.
The 53-year-old – dubbed by colleagues at the charity as the ‘red under the bed’ and the ‘quiet Corbynista’ – had previously refused to meet Prince Charles when he visited her office, stayed at her desk as colleagues watched Lady Thatcher’s funeral, and turned down a Buckingham Palace garden party invitation.
Last week Ms Gibbins took the British Council, which promotes British culture abroad and whose patron is the Queen, to an employment tribunal. She is claiming unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and ‘belief discrimination’.
She sparked outrage after her Facebook comments under a photo of Prince George hit the headlines a year ago. The picture, released to mark George’s third birthday, was originally commented on by the band Dub Pistols. Its caption read: ‘I know he’s only two years old, but Prince George already looks like a f ****** d***head.’
There followed a debate among Ms Gibbins’s friends on social media about the Royals, Central London Employment Tribunal heard. Ms Gibbins wrote: ‘White privilege. That cheeky grin is the (already locked-in) innate knowledge that he’s Royal, rich, advantaged and will never know any difficulties or hardships in life. Let’s find photos of 3yo [sic] Syrian refugee children and see if they look alike, eh?’ Later she posted: ‘I’m sound in my socialist, atheist, republican opinions. I don’t believe the Royal Family have any place in a modern democracy, least of all when they live on public money. That’s privilege – it needs to end.’
Two days later, the story set off a media storm after it was leaked beyond the secure privacy settings of her Facebook page, which is limited to her 150 friends.
Ms Gibbins said a British Council press officer approached her about the story before publication but played down how bad it would be. On the day the row erupted, Cambridge graduate Ms Gibbins, of Walthamstow, East London, claimed she was advised not to go to work.
The charity issued a statement that morning, and said it had started disciplinary proceedings.
Under pressure, Ms Gibbins sent an apology to Kensington Palace, but she was suspended the next day, the tribunal heard. Her claim papers said it was ‘overwhelmingly clear’ that before any proper investigation took place, a decision had been made to ‘hang the claimant out to dry’.
A month later the Labour Party member was sacked for gross misconduct. In her witness statement, Ms Gibbins said her long-held republican views were well known at the British Council.
She said: ‘I had always been open and honest about these if asked. I can remember being variously bated as “the red under the bed” or “the quiet Corbynista” in meetings with senior colleagues, many of whom often made disparaging jokes about my Left-wing views.’
Since losing her job, Ms Gibbins said she had received numerous threats on Twitter and had been unable to secure work. Defending her actions, she told the tribunal: ‘I have also been very clear that none of the comments I made were abusive or used any kind of foul language.
‘We were actually talking about how all children should have the same rights, no privileges, no matter what their background.’
But Rebecca Walton, the Council’s EU regional director, told the hearing: ‘I believe there is a recklessness that comes into play when you choose to comment under a picture of a three-year-old child about that three-year-old child.’
Ms Gibbins is seeking damages, a new job with the British Council or her old job back, plus compensation. The case continues.
White privilege. That cheeky grin is the (already locked-in) innate knowledge that he’s Royal, rich, advantaged and will never know
any difficulties or hardships.