A passenger whose necklace was stolen on a London bus has said the bus driver who retrieved it “didn’t deserve” to be sacked.

Mark Hehir, 62, originally from Limerick, was fired by Metroline after he chased down a thief who had stolen the jewellery belonging to one of his passengers, Katalin Kaszas.

British justice minister David Lammy told the House of Commons on Tuesday how Hehir “is of course a hero and deserves our support”.

“I’m following this case very closely,” he said.

Speaking to Press Association, Kaszas (46) said she felt “so guilty” after learning Hehir had lost his job as a result of confronting the thief.

“When I was getting on the bus, a young man was getting off on the front door. He was running past me, I thought he was going to push me off the bus. He just grabbed my necklace and ran with it,” she said.

“I was like, ‘Why is he there, where is my necklace? Oh damn’. So that’s when I realised what just happened. I saw Mark running out, running after the guy.”

But after Hehir gave the necklace back to Kaszas, the thief returned to the bus.

“The guy was coming up… I was like ‘No, no, no, stay away from me, I don’t want to do anything with you’. He looked very, very shifty, I did not feel comfortable at all,“ Kaszas said.

“I would say I even felt threatened, so I was backing away, and that’s when Mark realised that something is not right here and he stepped in.

“I don’t know where I was in my mind, I saw a punch flying, a guy hitting the floor, there was some blood and then I started to call the police.”

Asked for her reaction to hearing Hehir had been sacked by Metroline, Kaszas said: “I think it was unjust. I don’t think [Hehir] deserved that.

“If he doesn’t do what he did, anything could have happened to me.

“I felt so guilty. I felt that it was my fault – I caused all this.”

More than 125,000 people have signed a petition in support Hehir, which was launched after an employment tribunal upheld Metroline’s decision to sack the bus driver.

In another sign of public support for the former bus driver, a GoFundMe page for Hehir has raised more than £28,000 (€32,500).

Earlier on Tuesday, Hehir, who now lives in northwest London, was invited into parliament by shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan.

Mullan told PA: “I think Metroline need to come out and apologise, Mark deserves an apology, it’s quite clear they’ve gotten this wrong”.

Last week, Press Association reported from the findings of an employment tribunal which found that on June 25, 2024, Hehir was driving the 206 bus, which runs between Wembley and Maida Vale, north-west London.

The tribunal was told the bus driver then responded in self-defence to the thief and hit the man once, knocking him unconscious.

Hehir then restrained the thief on the pavement until police arrived.

Both men were arrested, although Hehir was told he would face no further police action.

A police case review said: “The claimant had used force which was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in the defence of himself and the female passenger.”

A Metroline spokesperson said: “The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair.” – Press Association