A charity worker has been fired after saying refugees should be sent back “on a boat”, an employment tribunal in Dundee has heard.

The tribunal ruled that the Salvation Army was justified in sacking Charles Markie, 56, after he made the remark in March 2024.

At the time of the comment, Markie was working at Strathmore Lodge, a hostel run by the charity which housed migrants and refugees.

The hearing heard that Markie told colleagues: “There wouldn’t be a housing shortage if we weren’t taking in 150 refugees,” and “send them all back on a f****** boat”.

Markie made the comments about refugees he was supposed to be caring for. (Image: PA)

The tribunal was told his comments caused shock and that he was subsquently challenged by a colleague, who asked if that included refugee from Syria who stayed at the hostel.

Markie responded: “Yes, the lot of them.”

A number of homeless and vulnerable people used the hostel’s facilities, including refugees.

The tribunal was told Markie became “aggressive and angry” before making the comments, after being told of changes to the council’s housing policy.

At a disciplinary hearing, Markie claimed: “I didn’t say the F word. I said send them all back on a boat. I didn’t swear. Later in the investigation I did swear and put hands up to that.

“It was my point of view, wasn’t directed at anyone. We are letting too many people in when we don’t have facilities or housing to give them”, he said.

The tribunal heard that Markie told the hearing he did not mean to hurt anyone, and that he “isn’t racist and has foreign friends”.

The tribunal also heard that Karen Good, a service manager at the Salvation Army, believed the comment was racist and “undermined any trust she had in the claimant’s ability to carry on with his role which involved helping refugees based on their needs”.

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She contended that Markie had committed gross misconduct by expressing those views and decided that he should be dismissed.

At the tribunal, Markie claimed unfair dismissal, direct sex discrimination and harassment.

But all three claims were dismissed by Employment Judge James Hendry, who said: “The evidence showed that the claimant’s colleagues were shocked at the comment made, betraying, as they saw it, a complete insensitivity towards those that they were duty bound to help.