Man unfairly sacked after falsely accused of selling Ian Huntley info

Mar 4 2010 by Robert Weatherall, The Journal

A MAN falsely accused of trying to sell secret information about Soham killer Ian Huntley was unfairly sacked from his job.

Bosses at mobile workforce company Cognito fired North man John Capewell during disciplinary proceedings which were described as “ludicrous” “shambolic” and “a dogs breakfast”.

Mr Capewell was fired by his bosses when they discovered he had been charged along with his prison officer brother Paul with trying to sell inform- ation to a national newspaper about the child killer, who is an inmate at Durham’s Frankland prison.

The final day of a two-day employment tribunal hearing heard how Mr Capewell was denied the right to a trade union representative during a discip- linary hearing and that he was unfairly dismissed.

The hearing had previously heard evidence from director of business development Michael Cross that he had taken the decision to terminate Mr Capewell’s employment because he feared the company’s name would be harmed when the two brothers appeared in court.

Mr Capewell was fired in July 2009 – five months before he and his brother were both unanimously found not guilty by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

After his dismissal, Mr Capewell immediately appealed using Cognito’s internal appeals procedure.

That appeal was handled by service director Graeme Miles.

He told the tribunal panel, chaired by Tudor Garnon, that he upheld Mr Cross’s decision to fire Mr Capewell. But he said that adverse publicity the company might attract by being associated with an employee in a criminal trial was not his main reason for upholding the sacking.

He claimed he decided to rubber stamp the company’s firing of Mr Capewell because they could no longer trust him.

Mr Capewell had lied to company IT workers for six months saying that a laptop, which had actually been seized by police as part of their investigation, was being repaired.

Mr Miles said: “My decision relied upon the view that the personal relationship Mr Capewell and Mr Cross had had broken down.

“I would expect any employee who reported directly to me to come to me and report a problem.

“The fact that Mr Capewell didn’t do that with Mr Cross was a contributing factor to the mistrust and the decision.”

The tribunal panel heard how Cognito human resources manager Michelle Bailey had been central in the initial investigation into Mr Capewell’s conduct.

She also acted as a minute taker during the disciplinary hearing chaired by Mr Cross. Following that meeting, Mr Cross discussed with her his decision to fire Mr Capewell.

During the appeal process she was further involved and interviewed by Mr Miles.

The company’s disciplinary procedures were described by Mr Capewell’s barrister Antoine Tinnion as “a dog’s breakfast” and “shambolic”.

Tribunal chairman Mr Garnon branded the procedures “ludicrous”.

He said: “Mr Tinnion has described the procedures as shambolic – that is putting it mildly.”

The tribunal awarded Mr Capewell a total of £6,638 in compensation, made up from loss of earnings, benefits and an award for being refused union representation.

Following the hearing, Mr Capewell, 45, of Wallsend, North Tyneside, said: “I brought two claims against Cognito and both claims have succeeded.

“I have said all along that I was unfairly dismissed and the tribunal agreed. I am delighted to have been vindicated by the tribunals’ judgement.”

Cognito managing director Steve Alderson refused to comment, claiming the public hearing was a private matter.