On 15 December 2009, Duke Amachree's internal appeal was dismissed by Wandsworth Council.
The internal appeal at Wandsworth Council of Duke’s case, the homelessness prevention officer, who was sacked for asking a sick client whether she had considered putting her faith in God, took place last night (15 December). Sadly, common sense did not prevail and Wandsworth Council dismissed his appeal. During the course of the hearing the investigative officer for Wandsworth Council, an employee of Wandsworth Council, Mr Hussein said ‘To bring religion up in the course of an interview would be a very dangerous thing to do’.
A good crowd of people came to stand outside the Council Buildings, despite the freezing weather. Many of Duke’s colleagues came by in support of him but stated that they feared to speak out at work on his behalf because that would mean serious repercussions for them. Thank you to many of our supporters who have taken action over this.
Wandsworth Council have attempted to insinuate that Duke’s case is far more serious than we portray in an attempt to undermine him. The evidence they rely on is an email and one interview of an individual, whose evidence we have never been able to test. She told an inconsistent story about how he spoke about God and stated clearly that she did not want him to lose his job over this. Wandsworth Council have preferred her story over his despite his 18 years of exemplary service. This all started because Duke, out of compassion, mentioned God in the workplace.
Click here for more on the case, from our mini-site, Justice for Duke
The Christian Legal Centre will be taking this case to an Employment Tribunal.