Shop worker axed for online posts

A SHOP worker has been fired by his employer over his social media posts.

Ben Woods, 41, said he was sacked from his job as a wine specialist at Henley Waitrose, off King’s Road, over a series of posts he made on X, formerly Twitter.

Mr Woods has accused the store of impeding his right to free speech and says he plans to fight the decision and has already appealed.

If he is unsuccessful he plans to go to a tribunal to fight his case.

Mr Woods claims Waitrose fired him over around 30 posts that they said had damaged the company’s reputation.

These reportedly included a Daily Telegraph cartoon he posted in which a teacher at parent’s evening tells a student’s parents that their son is falling behind in sex education as “he could only name 47 of the 100 different genders”.

Other posts included Mr Woods asking his followers if the Palestinian flag should be banned and a “meme” likening Shamima Begum, who left the UK to join the Islamic State group, to a black garden umbrella.

Mr Woods had also asked in a post if the burqa and hijab should be banned in the UK under which he commented “Support the country you live in or live in the country you support”.

Speaking to the Henley Standard following the decision Mr Woods, who has worked at the store for more than 25 years, said he had found out he was getting the sack via email. He said: “To see it there in black and white makes it very real. It’s very upsetting.

“It’s part of my life, I have been there since I was 15 and a half. I am very overwhelmed by the news.”

Mr Woods said he was first suspended by the company on January 24 after a post from another X account “doxed” him by revealing his identity and workplace.

Following this Mr Woods said he received death threats — one incident which Thames Valley police confirmed it had investigated and filed.

Mr Woods had previously described his account as merely a “hobby” outside of work and that it had nothing to do with his job.

However, the Henley Standard has seen a post from Mr Woods dating back to 2015, showing him in his Waitrose uniform alongside the TV presenter Phillip Schofield.

When put to Mr Woods, he said: “That was nearly 10 years ago. You are going to hold me to account for being excited to meet a celebrity and having a photo taken? The important thing was the account wasn’t set up for Waitrose.”

A crowd-fundraiser set up by Mr Woods to cover his legal fees has raised more than £21,000. He is being represented by London-based lawyers, Branch Austin McCormick.

He said: “The most important thing now is to try and win a tribunal, if it gets that far. I plan to fight this with every fibre of my being. I plan to take Waitrose to a very public and very important tribunal.

“I think this it is an extremely important issue now and it has become bigger than me where a lot of people have said ‘Actually, Ben, this is about employees’.

“Does an employer have a right to silence their employees because they don’t like what they say? Or if they don’t follow a company’s agenda or woke ideology.”

Mr Woods said that he has found it difficult not going to work and missed his colleagues.

He said: “I felt so isolated and alone, especially when you’re good friends with people for such a long time. It's like a family. It is quite upsetting.” Despite this he said he has received support from his former customers throughout.

He said: “It has been unbelievable. I have had huge support from the town. I must have heard from nearly 100 customers.

“A lot are extremely upset about what’s happened and are boycotting Waitrose and they feel Waitrose have bowed down to ‘Wokeism’ so to speak.”

Some social media users have criticised Mr Woods’ account for his support of Tommy Robinson, the co-founder of the now-defunct English Defence League, and Conservative politician Enoch Powell.

A post on Mr Woods’ account seen in January includes a picture of Powell with the caption “Enoch Powell was RIGHT all those years ago!”

He has also made several posts calling for Robinson, who was jailed in October 2024 for contempt of court, to be released.

However, as reported by the Daily Mail, none of the posts flagged by Waitrose mention either politician.

Mr Woods has denied accusations that his posts endorse the far right or are inciting hatred.

He said: “There are going to be people who completely stand against what I’ve said.

“If the police say there isn’t anything inciting hatred, then who is it for you to say that I’m inciting xenophobia or being Islamophobic? In terms of Enoch Powell, at the end of the day whether you liked him or not he was a divisive figure.

“You could say the same thing about Margaret Thatcher, she was a divisive figure. Are we not allowed to talk about her?

“Are we not allowed to talk about [Enoch Powell] or raise questions about him or say he was right on certain things, and he was wrong on certain things?

“I’m quite happy if you are left-wing or right or centre and you want to have an open debate then fine. Don’t just call someone xenophobic just to shut them down and cancel them.”

Mr Woods said he would be searching for a new job but that a “long road” was ahead.

He said: “I want to try and rebuild my life. Waitrose have destroyed it after giving them so much of my time.

“I have to get back to work. Whether I will be able to because of reputational damage, I don’t know. This is just the start of a long road.”

A spokeswoman for the John Lewis Partnership, which owns Waitrose, said: “I am afraid we are unable to discuss individuals so aren't able to comment.”

Thames Valley Police was contacted for comment.