Nurse forfeits register after Bible verse on foreigners

Roberta Batchelor managed wards at University Hospitals Birmingham after 40 years in the NHS. She rose from cleaner to win a Pride of Nursing award in 2015. In August 2024, posts on her Facebook ended that career.

The posts followed Southport riots, sparked by Axel Rudakubana’s murders of three girls. Batchelor shared an image contrasting boat arrivals with a homeless veteran: “these give nothing and get everything” versus “these give everything and get nothing.” She captioned airport security against Dover boat arrivals: “You at the airport” and “Muhammad at Dover.”

Another post quoted Deuteronomy 28: “Foreigners who live in your land will gain more and more power, while you gradually lose yours. They will have money to lend you… In the end they will be your rulers.” She added taxes fund mosque protection amid knife crime images.

A public complaint reached her NHS Trust. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) investigated, ruling the posts “racially motivated” and seeking to offend immigrants and Muslims.

Batchelor explained anger over Labour’s winter fuel cuts and national unrest. She called her comments “horrible,” apologized to family and colleagues, and agreed to removal from the register. “I feel so disgusted with myself,” she told the panel.

The NMC rejected this as insufficient “serious reflection.” It cited “deep-seated attitudinal issues” across multiple posts, breaching codes on kindness, respect, and appropriate expression of beliefs.

Regulatory Overreach in Professions

NMC standards demand nurses avoid “inappropriate” personal beliefs online. The panel deemed Batchelor’s actions “fundamentally incompatible” with registration, risking public harm and confidence.

No patient harm occurred. Her career involved direct care, yet private social media prompted striking-off.

This mirrors Lucy Connolly’s 31-month sentence for a post calling for migrant deportations after Southport. Connolly wrongly linked Rudakubana to illegality; both cases punished sentiment on migration.

Speech Controls Tighten Post-Riots

Southport unrest saw mass arrests for online speech. Governments since 2010 expanded “hate speech” definitions, now enforced by professional regulators.

NHS employs 1.4 million; shortages persist with 40,000 vacancies. Yet bodies like NMC prioritize orthodoxy over retention.

Cross-party pattern holds: Conservatives passed Online Safety Act precursors; Labour accelerated post-riot policing. Regulators operate independently, insulated from electoral pressure.

Public Dissent Meets Institutional Barriers

Batchelor’s posts voiced migration concerns central to polls: 52% view it as top issue per Ipsos. Taxpayers fund migrant services while veterans sleep rough and pensioners lose fuel aid.

Professionals face career risks for echoing these views. Doctors, teachers, police log similar cases of discipline for social media.

NMC’s action upholds “public confidence,” but erodes trust in regulators. Functional governance would distinguish private opinion from professional conduct.

Institutions now police attitudes, not actions. Batchelor’s self-requested exit underscores the chill: conformity trumps competence.

UK public sector sheds dissenters amid service collapse. NHS waiting lists hit 7.6 million; striking-off for Facebook reveals misplaced priorities. This enforces silence on migration’s costs, accelerating institutional detachment from citizens’ realities.