23 year old Corbynista MP Nadia Whittome made a splash yesterday evening as she declared she had been ‘sacked’ from her role as a casual worker at a retirement home in her constituency. Whittome claims that she was ‘sacked’ for “speaking out about a lack of PPE”. This is despite the home, which has not had a single Coronavirus death, saying it has “three months’ supply of PPE, including over 25,000 pairs of gloves, 7,700 aprons and nearly 6,000 masks”. Despite working just eight casual shifts at the home all year, the incident is gaining significant media attention…

Guido has seen the letter Whittome was sent, which curiously has not been reported in other news outlets:

“On Thursday, I was approached by several Lark Hill residents, our staff, our head office team and executive who were anxious about comments in the Nottingham Post around ‘a lack of PPE’. This is a position myself and the charity disagrees with and is not supported by the facts.

Our protocol hasn’t been met and ongoing press coverage of Lark Hill isn’t benefiting our residents, staff or charity; managing feedback is time consuming for myself and our wider team at a time of crisis when we simply wish and need to be focused on our day to day work, protecting our staff and residents’ lives in the community.”

Guido can see why a retirement home may ask a gobby casual worker to no longer very occasionally saunter in, especially if her media appearances from the local press to Newsnight were unduly scaring the residents.

There are, of course, extensive legal protections in the UK that prevent whistleblowers losing their jobs. If Whittome genuinely believes she was “sacked for speaking out about PPE” then Guido is expecting a tribunal…

UPDATE: A Government source tells Guido “Another week, another false story lapped up by the BBC.”