Felix Ngole, who missed out on a job because of his views on homosexuality, launches tribunal appeal
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Christians in Britain do not enjoy free speech, according to a man who claims he was discriminated against when he missed out on a job because of his views on homosexuality.
Felix Ngole, 47, applied to be a mental health support worker with Touchstone Leeds, based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire in 2022, and was offered the role. However, the offer was withdrawn after the charity’s management found reports on a case Mr Ngole won against Sheffield University in 2019.
He had challenged the university’s decision to prevent him from completing his social work degree, after it became aware of a Facebook row in which he said homosexuality and same-sex marriage were sins.
An employment tribunal in Leeds ruled that Touchstone Leeds’ decision to rescind the job offer was justified, because of concerns about reputational damage and the mental health impact on service users who might discover his beliefs online.
On Wednesday, Mr Ngole appeared at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London to challenge the ruling.
Speaking ahead of his appeal hearing, he said: “The ruling ultimately sets a dangerous precedent as it gives employers the freedom to block Christians, and anyone who doesn’t promote LGBTQI+ ideology, from employment.
“If we get to the point where if you don’t celebrate and support LGBT ideology you can’t have a job, then every Christian out there doesn’t have a future. You can study as much as you like, but you will not have a chance.
“The UK is no longer the country I heard about all those years ago when fleeing Cameroon. The UK then was a bastion of free speech and expression.”
During the employment tribunal, Touchstone argued that vulnerable LGBT service users requiring mental health support could be more likely to harm themselves if they found out Mr Ngole’s views about homosexuality.
But the Cameroon-born grandfather, of Barnsley, argued that his religious views would not prevent him from looking after an LGBT service user.
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In his judgment in June 2024, Judge Jonathan Brain said: “The difficulty which is presented in this case was the acute sensitivity and needs of a particular section of the respondent’s [Touchstone] clientele with whom the claimant applied to work.
“Balancing the interests of the respondent in preserving the mental health of their service users against the wishes of the claimant to work for the respondent and his ability to work elsewhere gives of only one answer. The balance favours the respondent, and their actions were therefore proportionate and are justified.”
Mr Ngole, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, said the tribunal’s ruling set a dangerous precedent, effectively barring Christians who held traditional views on marriage from working in professions that served LGBT individuals.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Bruno Qunitavalle, for Mr Ngole, set out a number of legal grounds on which the appeal is being made.
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