A BBC presenter sacked after criticising the corporation over its refusal to refer to Hamas as terrorists has lost his claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.
Sean McGinty, a journalist on BBC Radio Lancashire, was dismissed for gross misconduct in 2024 after condemning the BBC on X in the wake of the October 7 attacks on Israel.
He also sent an email to former BBC 5Live host Nihal Arthanayake calling him “sociopathic”, and making references to convicted murderers Harold Shipman and Lucy Letby.
McGinty, who worked at Radio Lancashire for 22 years, suffers from ADHD, which was diagnosed when he was a child, and severe anxiety, and argued his actions were a result of his conditions and brought a discrimination case.
But the tribunal found his claims were “not well-founded”.
Mr McGinty made a series of comments on X in the wake of October 7, including sharing and “liking” other users’ posts that criticised the BBC and a number of its journalists for their reporting on the attack.
In one post on X in October 2023, Mr McGinty said the BBC had a “fear of the word terrorist”, and that Hamas was a “terrorist organisation” guilty of “sadistic killings”.
“That’s the word any decent person would use who’s bothered to look at the evidence,” he added.
The BBC, which does not refer to Hamas as a terror group despite them being proscribed in Britain, said that he had broken its social media policy, which bars staff from posting anything undermining its impartiality or reputation.
The BBC also found that other posts containing “anti-trans sentiments” were a breach of impartiality.
In an email on October 16, 2023, Mr McGinty told Arthanayake that he was “sociopathic” after the then 5Live presenter recommended followers read the book A Day in the Life Of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall, and watch The Human Factor, a documentary on attempts to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, to “understand the context” behind the terror attack.
McGinty emailed: “It is remarkable that you have the hubris to instruct me to read a book so I can find out why these animals are such murderous b-----ds… These are actions of evil monsters… It’s sociopathic of you to suggest anyone should read a book to seek context… I don’t look for context for disgusting excuses for human beings.
“That being said, I am looking forward to your recommending books that give some context and understanding of Lucy Letby, Harold Shipman and the Yorkshire Ripper.”
The BBC launched an investigation in October 2023 and McGinty went on long-term sick leave in November 2023.
He was later taken to a disciplinary hearing and sacked for gross misconduct in July 2024, a decision that was upheld on appeal in February 2025.
Mr McGinty then brought claims of unfair dismissal, disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments, against the BBC.
He accepted that he had made the remarks but said his ADHD and anxiety “caused him to express views that he would otherwise have kept private,”
However, a written judgement approved by Employment Judge Dawn Shotter, concluded "there was no causal connection between his disability and the gross misconduct Mr McGinty was accused of".
The tribunal also found the dismissal was reasonable because of the organisation's impartiality rules as it "could not have contentious and sensitive biased posts made public by a journalist who would continue to do so into the future because he was not accepting he was wrong, strongly holding personal views that overrode the BBC's restrictions on journalists".
Ms Shottey said: "[Mr McGinty] says he has a right to hold his views and there is no disputing that he indeed had this right.
“The problem for [Mr McGinty] was communicating his views to the wider public in breach of fundamental constraints imposed on him given the fact he was employed as a journalist and subjected to policies, which if breached, could result in disciplinary proceedings and dismissal.”
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