The Fire Brigades Union has barred a former member of its governing executive for allegedly making racist posts online and promoting material in support of a far-right party.
Grant Mayos – who resigned from the FBU before a disciplinary committee last week made the findings against him – had been chair of a group that had been waging a campaign to oust the leader of the union, Matt Wrack.
The FBU said action had been taken against Mayos after he was found to have repeatedly expressed racist views on social media and had promoted material by Britain First, a far-right group.
An X account using the name of Grant Mayos reposted and expressed approval for tweets by Britain First, its leader, Paul Golding, and the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. The account reposted a post saying “vile Muslim scum” were “infecting” Britain. In another post it said: “Thankfully most of us don’t have to endure this nonsense” in response to a post by Golding that referred to the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, turning on lights to mark Ramadan and which included the far-right conspiracy theory “the great replacement” as a hashtag.
Mayos has been involved in a group calling itself the Campaign for a Democratic FBU, which listed him as the chair of its “steering committee” on its website until the Guardian approached it for comment on Friday.
It said Mayos had left its steering committee several months ago and had no role in the group whatsoever. It added that Mayos strongly denied the charges against him and was unable to attend the disciplinary hearing as a family member was ill.
The group’s secretary is Paul Embery, another former member of the FBU executive and a figure in the “Blue Labour” movement who has become an outspoken critic of what he perceives as the failings of the modern left. Embery has been approached for comment via the Campaign for a Democratic FBU.
An employment tribunal found in 2021 that he was unfairly dismissed from his union job after speaking at a pro-Brexit rally in Westminster, before that ruling was overturned on appeal.
The Campaign for a Democratic FBU said it was established in 2020 as a network of FBU members and activists concerned with what it claimed was an “erosion of democracy, accountability and transparency” in the union. Its claims have been rejected by the FBU, which described it as a tiny group.
Wrack said the case of Mayos was “alarming and unprecedented” and added that the disciplinary hearing found he would have been expelled from the union had he still been a member.
In a letter last week to union branch secretaries, the FBU general secretary said: “All officials should be aware that the promotion of racism and fascism has absolutely nothing to do with democracy. Those involved with this group should reflect on the company they are keeping.
“Racism and fascism have no place in the fire and rescue service, and they have no place in our union. Fascism is a deadly enemy of the workers’ movement. The FBU is a proudly anti-racist, anti-fascist union. We stand for unity, equality and solidarity. Our members will be shocked that such activity was being undertaken by a former union official.
“We are determined to lead the fight for equality in the fire service. Doing this means tackling this issue head-on.”
Attempts have been made to seek a response from Mayos.
