Tribunal addresses ‘philosophical belief

An employment tribunal ruled in Farrell v South Yorkshire Policy Authority that an employee’s belief that the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks were "false flag" operations authorised by the US and UK governments, was not a philosophical belief capable of protection under anti-discrimination law.  The claimant, who was a principal analyst with a police authority, was dismissed when he produced his annual risk assessment report highlighting his views that the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks had been authorised by the US and UK governments in order to persuade the population to support foreign wars. The tribunal accepted that his belief was honestly held, but that this was not enough to secure protection from discrimination under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 (now incorporated in the Equality Act 2010).     Beliefs must also be cogent and coherent, and in the tribunal’s opinion "the assessment of cogency and coherence must take into account the broadly accepted body of knowledge in the public domain". In this case, the tribunal concluded that the conspiracy theory advanced by the claimant remained, "in the light of subsequent events and the weight of evidence, wildly improbable". 

Source: Mercer, 17 August 2011