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Man sacked for belief in psychics backed by judge (but, of course, he knew that would happen)

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor

A police worker who was sacked because he believed psychics can help solve criminal investigations is to go to court today to defend his right to legal protection from religious discrimination.

In the first case of its kind Alan Power, a trainer with Greater Manchester Police, will rely on a previous judgment that found his belief in mediums who contact the dead is akin to a religious or philosophical conviction.

In an unpublished judgement in Mr Power's favour seen by The Independent, the employment specialist Judge Peter Russell said that psychic beliefs are capable of being religious beliefs for the purpose of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. This is the same law which was used by the environmental campaigner Tim Nicholson when he successfully argued that green beliefs were the same as religious beliefs in a case decided last week.

In Mr Power's case Judge Peter Russell, sitting at Manchester Employment Tribunal, said: "I am satisfied that the claimant's beliefs that there is life after death and that the dead can be contacted through mediums are worthy of respect in a democratic society and have sufficient cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance to fall into the category of a philosophical belief for the purpose of the 2003 Regulations."

Mr Power told the court that he had a belief in psychics and their "usefulness in police investigations" and wanted the judge to confirm that holding such a belief is not a justification for dismissal. Mr Power has been a member of a Spiritualist church for more than 30 years and gave evidence that Spiritualist churches have ordained ministers and that hymns are sung at church services. When cross-examined by lawyers for the Greater Manchester Police he said his religion was one of love because he believed in a God of love rather than one of retribution.

Judge Russell said that a later hearing would have to establish whether the claimant was "dismissed for the possession of religious or philosophical beliefs or for his alleged inappropriate foisting of his beliefs on others."

Mr Power is to call a psychic whom he has known since 1980 to testify that Mr Power's association with him has "proved detrimental" to Mr Power's career with the police.

But Greater Manchester Police will argue today at an employment appeal tribunal in London that Judge Russsell "erred in law" because Mr Power did not originally claim to have had a religious belief, only that he had a belief in psychics and their usefulness to the police force. The police lawyer will also say that Judge Russell failed to give sufficient reasons for his ruling.

Last week legal experts said the landmark Nicholson case could open the floodgates to thousands of claims brought by those with strong environmental views who are victimised or discriminated against in the workplace. Yesterday lawyers said the Power case showed how wide the equality at work regulations had been drawn.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "GMP can confirm that a member of police staff was dismissed from his role as a trainer. The former staff member has appealed this dismissal. As the appeals process is underway it would be inappropriate to comment further."

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Comments

(no subject) - [info]lcb1 - Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 05:56 am (UTC)
Re: G.M.C.
[info]turk_diddler wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 10:34 am (UTC)
Can't imagine anybody would ever be arrested on the say-so of a medium. If any policeman does use parapsychology during investigations it is probably to create new leads after which they must search for solid evidence. Whether that wastes time or, at worst, infringes the rights of the innocent people who get pointlessly invesitgated, who knows.
Either way, it is a worrying notion that such practices may get used.

If on the other hand it never affects Alan Powers' police work, who the hell cares what he believes in?
Does it matter?
[info]stevvi wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 06:20 am (UTC)
As long as he doesn't use those beliefs at work, who cares?
Re: Does it matter?
[info]lcb1 wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 06:36 am (UTC)
How would he know what he was doing?

T.V. police characters saying "I really thought there was something fishy about that man in the blue cap with a limp, and he stuttered when I put it to him he is a murderer" has always been really suspect. One has always hoped that the police don't proceed in that way at all.

It is heartening to see this police trainer sacked, to see that the police are doing the right thing in this instance. But I know there are other divisions or area groups of the police in The U.K. who do take psychic advice very seriously - I watched a program on T.V. about it recently. They shouldn't. It's very serious.
Anything is a faith today
[info]jeanshaw wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 07:27 am (UTC)
It does seem that anything in which you strongly believe can be regarded as a faith and can be used against your employer. I dont think this was what was intended by the Regulation but as we have seen time and time again regulations /Acts concerned with human rights and Government control over citizens can be used in ways never meant.
British judges: putting the moron in oxymoron
[info]tatcawh wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 07:55 am (UTC)
No-one should be sacked from a publicly-funded position because of their religious beliefs - unless those beliefs adversely affect their ability to do their job.

So the question that Judge Peter Russell should be asking himself about this police trainer is; 'would I accept, in this courtroom, testimony from police officers trained by this man to conduct criminal investigations on the basis of psychic evidence?'
[info]jamie129 wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 09:29 am (UTC)
I have no problem with his believing whatever he wants. If he actually uses or, as a trainer, advocates using methods in policing that are known not to work, he should be fired.
The fundamental problem is...
[info]tallise wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 10:03 am (UTC)
... that ANY religious beliefs at all are protected. Believe what you like in private, but if those beliefs are incompatible with your job, then you shouldn't have accepted it in the first place. On the other hand, if you are in a job where your beliefs do not conflict with the employer's purpose, then you should not be sacked either. But your own personal beliefs should not be allowed to interfere with the functioning of your employer. It is the law which determines which employer activities are appropriate, not employees' beliefs.
This from a force
[info]korudy wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 12:39 pm (UTC)
whose chief constable was James Anderton.
Religious freedom at last!
[info]had_it wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 01:51 pm (UTC)
It is nice to know that respectable religions like Scientology, Jedi, Voodoo and Wiccan will now be protected, along with beliefs in psychics, ghosts, laetrile, numerology, faith healing and UFO's. If we can protect the evil five (Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Judaism, Hindu - those responsible for more war and oppression than any other cause), it is about time we started protecting more gentle superstitions.
(no subject) - [info] - Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 02:21 pm (UTC)
Re: Judge the Judge
[info]ourmaninberlin wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 03:47 pm (UTC)
As the Judge stated, this guy has a sufficiently strong belief in psychics for it to be covered by the relevant act and as such this in itself should not be grounds for dismissal. The problem, as I read it, is that this guy has allowed this belief to interfere with his work as a trainer and, possibly through proselytizing, has allowed his belief to affect others around him, which is clearly unacceptable. I guess we'll have to wait for the second verdict to find out for sure.
What about the Welsh force who used psychics?
[info]kerrygold wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 07:59 pm (UTC)
They spent over £20,000 visiting pubs looking for a Mr Fox, after a psychic claimed a man had been murdered by having petrol forced down his throat. After digging up the body they found he had died innocently.
Proclaimed Belief may actually be non belief.
[info]superkeith wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 09:58 pm (UTC)
It is not possible to know what many people really believe and this is just another belief but what matters is what is practised and this is one of the reasons why we have the secular law of the land to protect us from unacceptable actions. If I have a belief that at the end of every Parliamentary session the Prime Minister should be sacrificed to the Sun God, then there is nothing to prevent me holding that belief, particularly if I don't confess it, but if I try to put it into action then the law would say no. In my opinion the majority of members of the organised religions do not believe all of the doctrine of their ethos and many believe none of it but they try to support goodness and of course so do most non believers. Yesterday Ehsan Fattahain was due to be executed in Iran for denying his Faith, for Apostasy and no other crime. Death for Apostasy is claimed to be an inviolable tenet of Islam and certainly such a penalty will stop others declaring their denial but can there ever be true belief if the choice is not voluntary and wouldn't the knowledge of such a penalty would mean that choice could never be, and has never been, made by anyone.
It's the law
[info]mightyatheist wrote:
Thursday, 12 November 2009 at 11:51 pm (UTC)
This is what happens when you allow a rational doctine, that of law, to query the in's and out's of the irrational superstitions. the outcome is they are all on the same equal (albeit low) footing.
Hopefully more of the same will follow. one day someone will coem up with a rational, plausible explanation why the big four are actually any different from the tooth fairy and santa.
ummm.
[info]martynnorris wrote:
Friday, 13 November 2009 at 04:34 pm (UTC)
The problem I have is not that psychic boys beliefs are legally defined as a religion, it's that believing the Man made climate change can be put on the same footing as a religion. We have science and facts and experiments. It's not a belief in the same way as a magic man in the sky is.
Rubbish
[info]proximaking wrote:
Saturday, 14 November 2009 at 10:43 am (UTC)
You can't talk to the dead because no-one dies. We simply stop and can be picked up in the future so if you are 90 and "stop" it will be your kids and grandkids that will pick you up in some technological future. Even Jesus spoke of the regeneration to come, ..... sounds rather Dr Who-ish but those are the exact words he used, translated of course.

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