Irish bus driver sacked after chasing thief hopes employers realise they 'got it wrong'

An employment tribunal has upheld the decision to sack London bus driver, and Limerick native, Mark Hehir. 

Limerick man Mark Hehir said the support has been overwhelming since his case came to light Picture: James Manning/PA

A Limerick man who was fired from his job driving a London bus after he chased down a thief has said his former employers have not been in contact with him despite the public outcry over his sacking.

“I said all the way along I was justified in the situation,” Mark Hehir said this morning.

“I would just hope Metroline would realise maybe they got something wrong here.” 

Mr Hehir was fired by his firm Metroline after the incident where he sought to retrieve a passenger’s stolen necklace.

On Newstalk, he described the incident where he left his cab to chase down the thief and managed to retrieve the necklace. He also suffered injuries in the subsequent altercation and was hospitalised for six days.

However, when he returned to work, he found himself sacked.

“Bringing the company into disrepute was one of their claims,” he said. “The other claim was leaving the bus unattended, risking passenger safety, that someone might get into the bus, start the bus or drive away.

“I mean it’s impossible, simply because you need four different points to start the bus. And I was carrying two of those keys on me at the time.” 

An employment tribunal has recently upheld Metroline’s decision to sack Mr Hehir, which has brought the case to the attention of the wider public.

“I do miss the job,” Mr Hehir said. 

“I was a good driver, I miss the people. I did enjoy it.” 

As of Thursday morning, over 135,000 people have signed a petition calling for him to be reinstated to his job.

British Justice Secretary David Lammy has told the House of Commons that Mr Hehir is “of course a hero and deserves our support”. Mr Lammy said he was also following the case “closely”.

Mr Hehir said that multiple people including local MPs had been in contact with the company to call for his reinstatement, but to no avail.

“It seems like even over here, I’m getting messages from Australia, New Zealand, I’m on a show in America tomorrow,” he said. “It’s gone crazy over here. The support has been 99.5% in my favour.”