Sewage worker 'fired over post calling Hamas disgusting terrorists' - 'It cost me my job!'

He added that "the vast majority of STW's employees stand in solidarity with our Jewish, Israeli and Zionist colleagues against the evil of Islamist terror."

The post was taken down by managers following internal complaints that "the terminology being used includes very derogatory words" and "is very one-sided".

One complainant said: "The post reflects poorly on Severn Trent's reputation as a diverse and inclusive company."

Joshua was immediately suspended and later dismissed without notice following a disciplinary hearing.

He later revealed: "It happened in a matter of hours. I made the post at 7.50. I got a call from my manager at 10 or 11 telling me that it had been taken down."

"They used the word 'derogatory' for the words I had used to describe a terrorist organisation, which shocked me. How could it be one-sided or derogatory to oppose a terrorist. Surely this is only one-sided."

At his disciplinary hearing, Joshua was told the post had caused "significant offence" to three staff members who complained.

Managers concluded that "this offence is in relation to a protected characteristic, specifically religious belief" and dismissed him for gross misconduct.

MORE LIKE THIS:

• BBC urged to address concerns over its reporting on Hamas conflict and wellbeing of Jewish staff: 'Significant number of errors!'
• ‘Understanding Hamas’ speaker lambasted after claiming media is ‘deliberately misrepresenting’ terror group and its actions - ‘You’re twisted!’
• 'Welcome to Britain!' Hamas-supporting migrant who vowed to 'die for sake of Allah' films himself arriving in UK as Channel crisis heightens 'national security threat'

He was told his language "caused offence to employees with different perspectives, particularly those with Muslim or Palestinian backgrounds".

But he argued throughout the disciplinary process that his post had not mentioned any religious group other than Jews.

He told The Telegraph: "There's a distinction that I was trying to make between Islamist terror and Islam. I didn't want to link it with all of Islam. Because there is a big difference."

Joshua, who has since found employment elsewhere, said the experience was "really stressful" and led to "sleepless nights".

"The hardest part was all the waiting and the not knowing," he said.

He blamed "snobbish" white-collar colleagues for his dismissal, suggesting they "looked down" on him as a maintenance engineer dealing with sewage.

READ MORE ON CANCEL CULTURE:

• School cancels Easter service out of 'respect for diversity' - but WILL celebrate 'Refugee Week'
• Ex-Home Office worker sacked for 'spreading hatred' after sharing post: 'I was almost homeless'
• Reform councillor reported to POLICE for social media post demanding foreign stalkers be deported

However, sources at the company said Joshua's comments were part of a wider pattern of voicing political views - including company initiatives like South Asian heritage events, LGBT inclusion days and diversity and inclusion workshops.

A Severn Trent Water spokesman said: "This is a complex employee relations case and it's important to be clear that this is not the whole story nor an isolated incident."

The spokesman added it related to "ongoing misuse of an apolitical work forum".

Joshua was represented by the Free Speech Union in his case.

Dr Ben Jones, Director of Case Management at the FSU, said: "We've dealt with 3,500 cases - but the facts of Damon's are particularly shocking. Sacking somebody for condemning Hamas is one of the most egregious cases of cancel culture we've seen."