‘I was sacked for posting about paedo colleague’
WAR VETERAN DEVASTATED TO LOSE JOB AT COVID TEST SITE
A FALKLANDS veteran has been sacked from a Covid testing centre after posting on Facebook that he was working alongside a convicted paedophile.
Michael Gill, who was convicted of trying to meet a child for sex, started the job at the Durham city centre site last month
When workmate Nigel Towler discovered his crime, he vented his disgust on social media – which cost him his first job in five years.
Furious Nigel has now been forced to apply for Universal Credit after losing his £24k-a-year job for what the site’s operator, Sodexo, said was a breach of contract.
Questions have now been asked as to how Gill got the role while Nigel – who has suffered sleepless nights since his dismissal – said: “I’m absolutely fuming.
“I’ve lost my job and my income all for making it public that a paedophile was working there to staff who should have a right to know.”
The testing site’s operator, Sodexo, said it was “unaware” of Gill’s crime when he was hired at the Territorial Lane testing centre.
A spokesperson for the firm added that it took immediate action as soon as it became aware of his conviction, adding: “We have informed Mr Gill that we will not be providing him with any further work”.
The 26-year-old narrowly avoided prison last month after grooming who he thought was a 15-yearold schoolgirl via the dating app Badoo.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Gill offered to bring “condoms and a blanket” to have sex with the girl back in March.
However the ‘victim’ was a decoy and Gill was snared by the Guardians of the North group.
“He was pretty disgusting in his chats. He was wanting to take the kid into the woods and was offering to bring the condoms,” said a member of the group.
According to Nigel, the County Durham pest was in his training group when they both started at the same time, roughly six months after Gill’s arrest.
“He seemed all right at first, but it goes to show you don’t know who you are working with,” said the 57-year-old, from Crook.
Shortly after they started, he was horrified to read on our ChronicleLive website that Gill had been sentenced for attempting to meet an underage girl following sexual grooming. When I read about it, I sat for a few days thinking about what to do, but I became more and more distressed and realised I had to tell someone,” claimed Nigel.
“So I put a post on Facebook that I was devastated to be working alongside a convicted sex offender.”
However, he claims management caught wind of the post and demanded it be deleted. Nigel complied, despite being “shocked and disgusted” at Gill’s crimes.
“I thought that was the end of the matter, but the next day I got a phone call, on my day off, telling me that I’d brought the company into disrepute.”
Emails seen by The Sunday Sun show that Sodexo told Nigel he had breached the firm’s social media policy. City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy said the case raised concerns over the firm’s recruitment process. She added: “I’m afraid this is one of the many issues with the outsourcing of test and trace systems to the private sector. Clearly we don’t have the same safeguards as we would have when the public sector, and the NHS in particular, delivers these services.”
The probation service is now investigating Gill, who was sentenced to a community order and placed on the sex offenders’ register following his conviction.
Durham Constabulary confirmed it had contacted the probation service after a complaint was received, while a Sodexo spokesperson added: “We are currently liaising with the probation service regarding an individual who was engaged by us as a multi-service operative at one of the Covid-19 testing centres. We were unaware of the person’s pending court case when we recruited them. The individual was immediately suspended when we were informed of their conviction and we are investigating the matter. We cannot comment any further on an individual’s employment with us.
“The role of a multi-service operative involves cleaning and waste management duties and does not require any interaction with members of the general public. The safety of those we serve is our top priority.”
Nigel claims his dismissal is a crushing blow, having been out of work for five years as he battled PTSD following years of service in the RAF. And he claims he’s been kicked out of a work Whatsapp group after being “cut dead” by his former colleagues for blowing the whistle on Gill’s crimes.
An emotional Nigel, whose dismissal caps off a miserable year which saw him spend a period in ICU after catching Covid-19, said: “They’ve made me feel like it is my fault, when all I’ve done is stand up and say this is wrong.
“This has totally shattered me, it really has.”