Sacked 'Mirror' chef fined for food-throwing protest

(First Edition)

A CHEF who hurled pots of curry and lasagne around a newspaper's kitchens after being sacked was fined pounds 200 and ordered to pay pounds 502 compensation yesterday.

Southwark Crown Court was told that William Reid, 31, of Peckham, south London, made his protest at the Daily Mirror's kitchens in Holborn Circus, central London, when he was dismissed after complaining about being told to cook lunch for the paper's executives at short notice.

Recorder Norman Miscampbell, QC, said: 'He completely lost his temper in the kitchen and there was quite a lot of destruction. He's obviously got a short temper. There was a lot of damage. In fact they lost a couple of thousand including loss of profit.'

Paul Boateng, for the defence, said Reid lost his temper after he was sacked for complaining.' He does have a very short fuse. He was not sacked for anything he had done but for complaints he was making.

'The whole matter was extremely unfortunate.'

An earlier hearing was told that the trouble started when Reid complained loudly about a last-minute order to prepare a lunch for senior executives at the newspaper.

He then stormed into the kitchen and hit his supervisor twice across the face cutting his eye. When staff arrived to escort him from the premises, he shouted: 'I will give you a good reason for sacking me.'

Colleagues cowered outside the door as Reid smashed glass salad bowls and earthenware pots and threw steaming dishes around the kitchen.

The court heard that the incident cost his employers, Catering Guild, pounds 2,680 in lost revenue and damaged property.

Reid, who denied assault but admitted causing damage to property on 17 March this year, was bound over to keep the peace in the sum of pounds 100 at the earlier hearing.