Let this be a warning to any ignorant bigot.
A nurse with three decades of experience has been permanently removed from the professional register after posting a series of inflammatory and Islamophobic comments on Facebook in the wake of the tragic Southport attack, a tribunal has ruled.
Simon Watts, who was employed by the medical care provider Mitie to work within the Norfolk and Suffolk Police Constabulary, used his private Facebook account to claim there was “no place” for Muslims in the UK and that the country was “finished”. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tribunal panel found his actions constituted serious misconduct and brought the nursing profession into disrepute.
The Posts and Their Context
The tribunal heard that Mr Watts published the comments on 2 August last year, just days after the devastating knife attack in Southport that killed three young children: Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar. The ruling noted that his posts included comments “specifically relating” to the attack.
At the time, false rumours circulated online incorrectly identifying the perpetrator as a Muslim immigrant, which led to a period of heightened community tension and saw disorder spread across the UK.
Amid this volatile climate, Mr Watts wrote: “This country has so many nasty immigrants wanting to spread hatred and violence towards its countries inhabitants. Deport Deport Deport before more bloodshed occurs.”
He explicitly targeted the Muslim community, stating: “This is not a Muslim country and there should be no place for them.”
In further comments, he elaborated: “I am directly looking at the unjust way this country is allowing inhabitants regardless of colour to be rubbished whilst the very cause over the last few attacks have been by immigrants whatever religion who scar this world for an ideology we cannot condone.”
While claiming, “I don’t care what colour or creed you are,” he criticised what he called “PC bullshit” and concluded, “I believe this country is finished due to the lack of immigration control.”
The Tribunal’s Findings
Mr Watts admitted to writing the posts and conceded that he should never have written them. He also acknowledged that his words could have a negative impact on his colleagues and patients.
However, the tribunal panel concluded that this admission was not enough. It found he had used “offensive, discriminatory and racist language which had the potential to incite hatred towards people who were different” from him.
The panel emphasised the sensitive timing of his posts, stating: “This was a time when community tensions were high and there was a lot of divisive and highly-charged commentary happening on social media.”
For an “experienced nurse of 30 years” who had worked with a “vast variety of patients from all backgrounds”, the panel deemed his behaviour “completely unacceptable and extremely serious”.
Crucially, the tribunal identified “deep-seated attitudinal problems which have not been addressed”. It noted that Mr Watts had justified his failure to understand different cultures and beliefs by simply stating he “did not need to”. The panel concluded he had shown “limited insight” into the severity of his actions and that there was a “significant risk” he would repeat his behaviour.
Outcome and Sanction
The panel determined that Mr Watts’s fitness to practise was impaired and that his actions had brought the nursing profession into disrepute, amounting to serious misconduct.
After an 18-month interim suspension order was put in place to cover a potential appeal period, the panel has now made a final order to strike Mr Watts’s name from the NMC register. This means he can no longer work as a nurse in the UK.
The case underscores the stringent professional standards expected of healthcare professionals in the UK, both inside and outside the workplace, and the serious consequences of using hate speech and promoting discrimination.
If you know of anyone being a bigot and can find out their place of work, then let the employer decide whether they are desirable.
