By Michael Rowley-
A paralegal and local councillor who foolishly wrote on Facebook that Boris Johnson ‘completely deserved’ to have coronavirus has lost her job
Midlands practice VHS Solicitors confirmed last night that Sheila Oakes, who was based at its office in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, and also mayor of Heanor, is no longer employed by the firm in any capacity.
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The former Labour member took to Facebook on Monday evening in a moment of stupidity that will forever tarnish her reputation to wish ill on the prime minister who has=d been leading a campaign to fight the coronavirus before he himself fell ill to the virus and was admitted into St Thomas hospital.
Ms Oakes said in her facebok comment, the prime minister ‘completely deserves this and he is one of the worst PMs we’ve ever had’, after Johnson had been admitted to intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
The incident occurred on Monday night, when Oakes reportedly replied to a Facebook post asking people to pray for the Prime Minister, who had been admitted to intensive care the previous day.
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Oakes, a Labour councillor for Amber Valley and the mayor of Heanor in Derbyshire, replied “Sorry, he completely deserves this and he is one of the worst PMs we’ve ever had”.
VHS solicitors said Oakes had posted in a personal capacity, but was sacked because her Facebook biography made it clear she was an employee of the firm which reflected badly on the law firm. Several of the comments on social media about the original post made reference to VHS and called for the firm to dismiss her, which it did.
But the firm was too embarrassed to answer questions by The Eye Of Media.Com on Thursday, in particular how long she had been working for the firm.Rattled solicitors among the few at the office who had not be furloughed promised to call back to address our questions, only to eventually refuse.
Reputation
The firm admitted Oakes’ actions had the potential to have a detrimental effect on its reputation and those working in it, reducing the morale of staff working to provide advice and representation to suspects in police interview or court.
The firm added:
‘We have previously stressed that her views are not shared by the partners or any other members of staff. To wish illness upon anyone must be abhorrent to all right thinking members of the public. We are acutely aware of the distress that such posts can cause, both to the family and friends of the prime minister, but also to all of those affected by this terrible virus.
‘The partners are hopeful that we are now able to move on from this incident. Swift and decisive action was taken by the firm, even though at times we could be less than transparent with the steps that we were taking due to issues of confidentiality. We hope that people are in retrospect understanding of these issues.’
Oakes has since apologised ‘unreservedly’ and said she was concerned about the doctors and nurses who lacked equipment to protect them from the virus. She described her comments as ‘something said in anger’. Her apology will not be accepted as she would appear to be only sorry for being caught, not her pathetic comments that makes her deserving of losing her job. She has been suspended from the Labour party pending an investigation.
Merger
HS Fletchers was formed in 2008 by the merger of two long established firms to bring together related and complementary specialisms. The firm has five offices across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and providea a comprehensive service through the whole criminal process from initial instructions at the police station through to the Crown Court and Court of Appeal.
Image: Fcaebook
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