Claimant’s belief in English nationalism not a protected philosophical belief

An ET decides that a philosophical belief in English nationalism was not a protected characteristic because elements of it which were anti-Islam were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

In Uncles v National Health Service Commissioning Board and Ors , an ET dismissed Uncles’ (U) claim that he had been discriminated against because of his philosophical belief in English nationalism. The evidence showed that: (i) U had made posts on Facebook about “Banning the Burqa” and how a woman wearing a headscarf was not welcome in the UK; and (ii) had posted a number of Tweets which included comments about Islam being only for the insane, including using the hashtag “#RemoveAllMuslims”. U also told the ET that Islam in its current form needs to banned unless it is “Anglicised” and “toned down.” The ET concluded that U’s philosophical belief in English nationalism was not a protected characteristic under S.10(2) of the Equality Act 2010 because elements of it were incompatible with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.


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