A Norfolk Brexit supporter has won a £8,300 payout after an employment tribunal found bosses launched a 'witch hunt' to get rid of him.
Firefighter Paul Embery, 47, was sacked as a union official after giving a speech at a Leave Means Leave rally in Westminster where others speakers included Nigel Farage and Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice.
He called for Brexit to go ahead, without a deal if necessary, during the event held in 2019 on the day the UK had been due to leave the European Union. The exit had been delayed by the government.
Mr Embery, a prominent left-leaning political activist, is employed by the London Fire Brigade but conducted union duties as a full-time regional official from 2008 until his dismissal in 2019.
Norwich Employment Tribunal said the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) had now agreed to pay him financial compensation after it ruled he was unfairly dismissed, though it found he was not sacked for supporting Brexit itself.
Mr Embery, who has lived in south Norfolk since 2009, said: “The panel drew the conclusion that it was a witch hunt. That was actually the words that the judge used in the written judgement.
“They felt there was an agenda to have me removed and that they felt that the whole case had a predetermined outcome.
“There is no doubt in my mind that it really was a consequence of the leadership not entertaining dissent, and deciding rather than have the debate with me or defending my right to express my views, that they would take disciplinary action.
“It was heavy handed, it was completely over the top and sadly for the union it has backfired quite seriously.”
At the three-day tribunal hearing last year the FBU had argued Mr Embery displayed gross misconduct in his role.
The panel heard there had been regular disagreements between him and FBU general secretary Matt Wrack over the issue of Brexit.
The tribunal heard that although the FBU supported Remain, it was committed to allowing members to express different political views.
But after his speech the FBU launched an internal investigation which found Mr Embery had gone against the union's anti-Brexit policy and appeared alongside individuals "with whom there should be no shared platform".
Mr Embery - now a presenter on GB News - said he had given his speech in his own time and had made no reference to his role with the FBU. He said he remains a member of the union.
“I have been a member for 25 years so I have a lot of affection for the union,” he added.
“I think it has done some great work representing firefighters, campaigning for decent pay and conditions."
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