Blogger’s Note. All bourgeois media lies – but it does so to varying degrees and intensities – and for different reasons. From 1945 onwards, the BBC propagated continuous lies about the USSR, from 1948 about North Korea, from 1949 about China, and from 1959 about Cuba, etc. To achieve this task of “misinformation” – the BBC followed the dictates of the US. The BBC supported the (illegal) invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the invasion and destruction of Libya and Syria, and the 2014 Neo-Nazi take-over of Ukraine (which involved an adjustment of the BBC anti-Soviet rhetoric into its much more limited anti-Russian equivalent. Onething that we can gleam from the operation of Judeo-Christian societies is that “lying” to the masses has its rules (just look at Israel to prove this). Below is three examples of exactly the same story involving a “have a go” bus-driver in London who knocked-out a thief during one of his shifts. This story is legally and regulatory complex – and he was suspended – and then sacked following his loss at two tribunals. As the story gained traction in the mainstream and right-wing press, this “White” bus-driver became something of a celebrity to the far-right (although he is careful not to virtue-signal any personal connection with it himself). Furthermore, as the mainstream media communicates in “code” (whilst attempting not to racially inflame issues) – there is no mention of the ethnicity of the thief – which usually implies he may not be White (hitting a non-White suspect might have influenced the decision to sack the driver). The BBC narrative presented first is the latest version containing much less details (presenting the driver as a misundestood hero) – whilst the second BBC narrative is around five-days old and contains far-more details (explaning that although the self-defence aspect was lawful [just] and legal [within a very narrow context] – the many other contributory aspects definitely were not). This process of “removing” details inverts the usual trajectory of gaining ever-more details and correctly reporting a story in greater detail. The third narrative is from a different news outlet and contains the “full” story from an impartial (non-BBC) news source. For context, I have been present many times when issues unfold on London buses. The drivers invariably a) lock themselves in their cabin, b) lock all the doors in the bus, c) stop the bus, whilst d) informing the police via a special alarm system. The driver in this case did none of these things – he even left the doors of the bus open (and the engine running) whilst he ran down the street! There is a debate as to whether he applied the hand-brake. Whatever the case, he did not protect either himself – nor the other passengers – as is his lawful (and legal) duty. ACW (3.2.2026)

BBC Narrative 1):

Bus driver sacked for punching thief wants apology

Harry Low – London – February 1 2026

A bus driver who was sacked for punching a thief who had stolen a necklace from a female passenger has said he would not want his job back – but would like an apology and compensation for lost earnings.

Mark Hehir, 62, was driving the 206 bus between Wembley and Maida Vale in north-west London in June 2024 when the incident unfolded.

Metroline told a tribunal the driver’s use of force was “excessive” after the thief, who was shown on CCTV to have thrown the first punch, was knocked unconscious.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition supporting the reinstatement of Hehir, whose dismissal was upheld in November following a tribunal.

Hehir, 62, said: “I’d be very happy if Metroline made an apology and just admitted that they might have got it wrong.

“I’d like them to compensate me for lost earnings. That’s important, that they understand they got it wrong.”

Both men were arrested but Hehir was subsequently released and told he would face no further police action.

The day after the incident on 25 June 2024, he was suspended from duty and told to attend an investigation.

‘On your own’

The petition calling for his reinstatement was started by the shadow justice minister Dr Kieran Mullan, who described the sacking as “shameful and unjust”.

Hehir, originally from Limerick in Ireland, said the support from the public had been “incredible” since the employment tribunal upheld Metrolink’s decision.

Asked if he would accept his job back, Hehir said: “Absolutely not. You cannot work for a company that treats its staff like that.

“I’m not saying they treat the drivers bad. I’m just saying if anything does happen, it’s always the driver’s fault. They’ll come down on you heavy.

“You’re on your own, you’ve created a situation, now you get out of it. There’s no help.”

Hehir, who described driving a bus as “an underpaid, tough job”, said the support he has received online had been “incredible” but he did not think of himself as a “hero”.

“I’ve always felt I was justified in my actions, and it just seems that 99.5% of people agree with me,” he said.

“I’m actually looking for negative responses and I just can’t find any. I mean everywhere, there’s thousands of messages.”

An online fundraising page for Hehir has raised more than £26,000.

He said he had spent six days in hospital after the 2024 incident “because I got an infection from the guy’s tooth”.

“I ended up in ICU. I had two operations on my hand because of the infection,” he said. “I was very, very close to losing my hand, I quote the surgeon, probably in the next three days if I didn’t get it seen to at the time.”

Other politicians have backed the former bus driver, with shadow transport minister Richard Holden and Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservative group on the London Assembly, writing to Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan to demand “serious consideration of reinstatement or appropriate compensation”.

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

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BBC Narrative 2):

Bus driver sacked after chasing and punching thief

January 28th 2026 (No Author Cited)

A London bus driver who chased a thief and punched him unconscious has been sacked, following a tribunal.

Mark Hehir, who told the hearing he was seen as a “hero” by the public, was driving the 206 bus for Metroline, which runs between Wembley and Maida Vale in north-west London, when a man stole a passenger’s necklace.

Hehir gave chase and retrieved the necklace, but said the man returned to the bus to confront him, and threw “the first punch”. The tribunal heard Hehir responded in self defence and then restrained the man for almost “half an hour”.

Metroline told the hearing the man had returned to the bus to apologise and that Hehir had used an “excessive use of force”.

‘Acted instinctively’

The men were both arrested, however Hehir was subsequently released and told he would face no further police action.

The day after the incident on 25 June 2024, Hehir was suspended from duty and told to attend an investigation.

At a disciplinary hearing, he was told the allegations included “bringing the company into disrepute by physically assaulting a passenger” and that he also “failed to protect his and his passengers’ safety by leaving the bus unattended with engine running and chasing an assailant”.

Hehir told the hearing that “he had acted instinctively in running after the (man)” and that he had left the doors open and the handbrake on.

The hearing was shown a note from a detective which said “the claimant had used force which was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in the defence of himself and the female passenger”.

‘Excessive use of force’

Operations manager Alina Gioroc, who had heard the disciplinary case, told the tribunal she believed “that the (man) returned towards the bus with the clear intention to apologise and shake hands with the female passenger”.

Gioroc continued: “When the (man) intended to shake hands with the claimant, the claimant pushed the (man) away rather than stepping away himself, and the (man) had not been aggressive until this point.”

She found the restraining of the man for almost half an hour to be an “excessive use of force and disproportionate”, the tribunal heard.

Gioroc concluded that each allegation was found and decided the claimant should be dismissed without notice for gross misconduct.

A tribunal held in Watford upheld Hehir’s dismissal and said that the “genuine belief of the disciplinary and appeal managers that the claimant was guilty of gross misconduct was held on reasonable grounds and was within the band of reasonable responses open to an employer in the circumstances”.

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News Shopper Narrative 3):

Bus driver sacked after he chased down and knocked out robber

29th January

A “hero” London bus driver was sacked after he chased down and knocked out a man who stole a passenger’s necklace.

Mark Hehir had worked as a London bus driver for Metroline for about two years before the incident.

On June 25 2024, Mr Hehir was driving the 206 bus, which runs between Wembley and Maida Vale in north-west London.

A tribunal heard that a man boarded the bus, pushing past a female passenger, before snatching a necklace from around her neck and running off.

Mr Hehir chased after the man down the street and returned the necklace to the female passenger.

The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair. The claimant breached protocols designed to keep staff and passengers safe, which is our priority

Metroline spokesperson

The man then reappeared, walking towards the bus, where he threw “the first punch” at Mr Hehir, the tribunal was told.

Mr Hehir then responded in self-defence and hit the man once, knocking him unconscious.

The tribunal was told Mr Hehir then dragged the man to the pavement and restrained him for almost “half an hour”.

The men were both arrested, however Mr Hehir was subsequently released and told he would face no further police action.

The day after the incident, Mr Hehir was suspended from duty and told to attend an investigation.

At a disciplinary hearing, Mr Hehir was told the allegations included “bringing the company into disrepute by physically assaulting a passenger” and that he also “failed to protect his and his passengers’ safety by leaving the bus unattended with engine running and chasing an assailant”.

Mr Hehir told the hearing that “he had acted instinctively in running after the (man)” and that he had left the doors open and the handbrake on.

The hearing was shown an email containing a case review note from Detective Constable Waddington, which said “the claimant had used force which was proportionate and necessary in the circumstances in the defence of himself and the female passenger”.

Mr Hehir told the hearing that when the man returned to the bus “the female passenger was scared” and that he held him on the ground as “he was frightened that the (man) would do something if he got to his feet”.

Mr Hehir told the hearing that the public’s view of his actions was that he was a “hero”.

The hearing questioned whether the man returned to the bus to “shake hands and apologise to the female passenger and the claimant”, and who threw the first punch.

Alina Gioroc, an operations manager who heard the disciplinary case, told the tribunal that she believed “that the (man) returned towards the bus with the clear intention to apologise and shake hands with the female passenger”.

Ms Gioroc continued: “When the (man) intended to shake hands with the claimant, the claimant pushed the (man) away rather than stepping away himself, and that the (man) had not been aggressive until this point.”

She found the restraining of the man for almost half an hour to be an “excessive use of force and disproportionate”, the tribunal heard.

Ms Gioroc concluded that each allegation was found and decided the claimant should be dismissed without notice for gross misconduct.

A tribunal held in Watford upheld Mr Hehir’s dismissal and said “that the genuine belief of the disciplinary and appeal managers that the claimant was guilty of gross misconduct was held on reasonable grounds and was within the band of reasonable responses open to an employer in the circumstances”.

A GoFundMe created to raise money for Mr Hehir has so far raised more than £300.

Henry Goff, 34, who works as a web developer and is behind the page, told the Press Association: “He’s a hero, he’s the kind of person that I think we all need to see and that we need more of.

“It’s a breath of fresh air in a world where sometimes we’re all worried about being paralysed when we see a difficult situation”, he added. “Mark didn’t worry about that. Mark worried about the safety of the other passengers and the injustice that he saw, and he wanted to set it right and I really admire that.

“A bus driver’s a really important job, maybe it isn’t the most well-paid job and to see that a tribunal were in favour of his employer, and he lost the job, I thought there’s no way we could leave this as it is, society in some way has got to set this right, we need more people like him not less.”

Nadine Edwards, regional officer for the Unite union, said: “Assaults against London bus drivers are on the rise and far too often not enough is being done to keep bus drivers safe from harm.

“The majority of bus companies aren’t taking driver assaults seriously and are not fully supporting their workers when incidents happen – more needs to be done by operators, Transport for London and the police to prevent assaults on these key workers.”

A Metroline spokesperson said: “The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair. The claimant breached protocols designed to keep staff and passengers safe, which is our priority.”