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Boris Johnson to discipline fire chief for labelling union leaders ‘bullies’
Ross Lydall26 Nov 2010
The chairman of the London Fire Authority is to be reprimanded by Boris Johnson after calling firefighters' leaders “thick” and “thugs and bullies”.
Tory Brian Coleman, who was appointed by the Mayor to oversee the London brigade, also revealed his wish to “break” the Fire Brigades Union, whose members were a “thoroughly unpleasant and nasty lot”.
It comes after his threat to sack all 5,500 front-line London firefighters and re-employ them on new shift patterns sparked two one-day strikes in recent weeks. A subsequent plan to axe 27 fire engines — leading to the loss of 500 jobs — has heightened tensions between staff and brigade chiefs.
Former mayor Ken Livingstone said: “Boris must get a grip and sack his confrontational fire chief if we're to have long-term solutions to challenges facing the brigade.”
Mr Johnson, who has “confessed ignorance” of the plan to axe engines, stood by his colleague but will discipline him for his remarks.
The Mayor's spokesman said: “Brian Coleman has pursued an important and sensible agenda to modernise the fire service. The Mayor is hopeful the recent dispute will soon be resolved so that London can benefit from those changes.
“Abusive and provocative language from either side of the dispute is inappropriate and unhelpful and the Mayor will make that clear to Mr Coleman.”
Mr Coleman, who is also a Barnet councillor, made his remarks in an interview with the Ham & High newspaper. Referring to the recent fire dispute, which saw clashes on picket lines, he claimed that the Left-wing union had been linked with “bullying and intimidation” back to the Seventies.
Four firefighters have been suspended for allegedly threatening strike-breaking colleagues. Mr Coleman went on: “You just have to stand up to thugs and bullies. The vast majority of firefighters are entirely, on a one-to-one level, decent and pleasant individuals.
“Most of the union officials... are thick, can't string a sentence together and frankly are incoherent. We have to break the FBU... They will fail in the end because neither I nor the fire authority, nor the Mayor of London nor this Government is going to give way to this kind of intimidation.”
FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “I have been afraid recently, as his remarks became wilder, that Mr Coleman was starting to lose the plot. It appears he has now lost it — I hope temporarily.
“If we all crouch in our dugouts screaming thick' and thug' and incoherent' and break the union' at each other, no progress will be made.”
Reader views (34)
paul, brian coleman was confronted by james o'brien in an interview on the radio only the other day. he was forced to publicly except the fact that there has been an INCREASE in fire deaths over the last couple of years, but still won't accept the claim that the public are being put at risk. he's a politician after all, what else would you honestly expect? as for the brigades statistics, they've done exactly the same as the police have done with fidaling the figures. for 1, as from last year fire deaths are now only considered fire deaths if someone actually dies inside the building on fire. if that person is removed from that fire and later dies in hospital it no loger counts as a fire death. this year, the brigade decided we will no longer be mobilised on the bells to people stuck in lifts, unless they explain to control they have some kind of underlying problem. we firefighters were strongly opposed to this decision, yet as usual it fell on deaf ears, and now we can see it was obviously a way of further reducing YOUR fire service. they've also fiddled the responce time figures, in that prior to the closer of manchester square fire station we had a duty to respond to ANY emergency call within 5 minutes. when they closed manchester square it became apparent in that area it was no longer possible to arrive within 5 minutes, so they simply changed our responce times to 8 minutes, and so managed to make the times again. who would have thought, a politician fiddling figures eh!
- tom, london, 29/11/2010 21:50
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pat, believe it or not, when someone is trapped in a burning building it IS firefighters that go in to rescue them.
as for dealing with "dangerous incidents", i don't want to bang on about it again, i have already mensioned on here before about some of the close shaves i've had, but believe me when i say i have been very close to being crushed under a collapsed building while searching for people after already resquing one woman. but it isn't just in burning buildings it becomes dangerous. i was putting out a car once when the petrol tank flooded out and went up whilst i was standing in the middle of it. whatever you choose to believe pat, firefighting IS a dangerous job that places us in dangerous situations. but again, this dispute isn't about how dangerous our job is, it's about YOUR fire service being destroyed, just like they've done to the police and ambulance that you've mensioned!! you suport that if that's the service you want pat, but remember out of all the emergency services at the moment, it's ONLY the fire brigade that has an 8 minute attendance time. if you get your way pat perhaps you could wait an hour for a fire engine or even longer as you currently do for a policeman or ambulance. but at least they don't have beds eh!!
- tom, london, 29/11/2010 20:15
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blimy, who do i start with first?
mike, the shifts we now work wasn't used in 1910, in fact they started in 1970's when they decided to "modernise" and give the public the kind of service they deserved. it became trendy in the 60's and 70's to have decent reliable services, services that the tax payers could be proud of. since then this country has seen government after government destroy every single one of those services and every single industry, causing mass unimployment, high crime, low education standards, not neerly enough housing and people too ill to go to hospital incase they catch something and die. so in that instance, yes our shift system is out of date, but you will soon have your wish and have a fire service cut to pieces and dismantled by yet another greedy little politician looking out for number one. just ask yourself this mike, after all the detrimental changes to services and industries over the last few decades, do you really trust these people to manage instead of destroying. i'm afraid mike, it's only us winging union activists keeping YOUR services afloat!!
- tom, london, 29/11/2010 19:57
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bazza, London.
Provide the statistical evidence, and it's source, to prove your statement?. Only then may Brian Coleman start to accept the FBUs claim of public safety being put at risk, as justification for the FFs taking industrial action.
- Paul, Coulsdon, 29/11/2010 14:58
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Pat Islington, sorry mate but you are wrong there has been an increase in fire deaths in London over the last couple of years.Just thought the facts are better than fiction
- bazza, London, 29/11/2010 12:25
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Good to see the same old FFs still trying to justify their cosy working lifestyle on these pages. The number of times they keep ranting on about '..entering burning buildings to rescue people..' makes it sound as if London has gone back in time to the blitz. There is one way to settle the dispute about the levels of firecover and the number of times that FFs are actually required to respond to 'dangerous incidents' is for the FFs Union to publish the full details of every station call out. In this way we, the public, can judge for ourselves whether or not the FFs claims of 'protecting public safety' is genuine, or is just being used as an excuse to continue their cosy working practices. Are other emergency service employees, such as the police, thousands of NHS workers or ambulance crews, allowed to take to their beds on their night shift so that they can sleep for up to 8 hours at a time, of course not. The truth is, is that with modern construction materials, fire and building regulations, sprinkler systems and early warning alarms the need for so many fire stations and personell has diminished greatly over the last 20 years. The FFs need to move into the 21st century.
- Pat, Islington, 29/11/2010 10:55
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re:Tom, London.
You argue a great deal about not having or having 2 jobs and then get to the crux of your argument about fire service cover, plain and simple. Well I am sorry but we taxpayers pay your bosses to manage not what appears to me to be some winging Union representative who wants to run the show.
As for your working hours they are now probably anachronistic and like so many other people whose working hours were okay more than 100 years ago in about 1910 they now need to be more relevant for today and for today's working practices.
As for 3 jobs Brian Coleman at £130,000 per year paid by the taxpayer and 2 jobs for fireman just keep your head in the sand for everyone knows a fireman who has 2 jobs and we all know the dumb-blond Boris Johnson hasn't the guts to do anything about his money grabbing Tory cronies.
To both parties - beware the wrath of the taxpayer!
- Mike, Sutton, 29/11/2010 09:21
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mike from sutton, i can honestly say mate that this dispute has absolutely nothing to do with firefighters having 2 jobs from either side. yes i do know some firemen who have second jobs, mainly because it's very difficault to support a familly in london on £27000 per year. on my watch there's 14 firefighters, 2 work in exhibition centers on their days off as fire officers (a job that will only take firefighters) in order to top up their wages and ones a driving instructor, that's it out of 14! though to be honest, i'm gradually creeping deeper and deeper into my overdraft each month and with another kid on the way it looks like at some point sadly i'm gonna have to follow suit. now i haven't always been a fireman and i can honestly say i have never worked anywhere where there WASN'T someone doing a second job. you yourself have more than likely worked with someone that has done an extra cleaning job, or gone out mini cabbing, why on earth has it all of a sudden become comon knowledge that ALL firemen do second jobs and ONLY firemen do second jobs? as for our preferential working hours, when calculated over the course of a year we work a hell of a lot more hours than anyone i know on a 9-5 job. and firemen are not the only people that work 4 on 4 off, there are in fact quite a few manual jobs that work the same shift system. you need to ignore tabloid rubbish mike and stick to the issue which is reduction in YOUR fire cover, plain and simple!!!
- tom, london, 28/11/2010 22:15
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Anyone know what Brian Colemans Job history is prior to him becoming a career politician??
What are his qualifications( apart from FRSA , which is nothing really)? What Job experience has he had. ( I think we can assume he was never a mediator or negotiator!)
There seems to be a distinct lack of information on Brians early life available.
Perhaps there is a real invetigative journalist out there who could find out??
- simone, Kingston, 28/11/2010 20:41
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So who is going to deal with Boris who uses the term "mental" about tube union bosses. A term millions of people will find offensive coming from someone who is Mayor of London.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 28/11/2010 19:03
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What a farce, Brian Coleman who has 3 jobs (Barnet Council and GLA Member)for which he receives £130,000 per year plus expenses paid from our taxes wants to stop the Fire Services staff from holding 2 jobs which they can enjoy because of their preferential working hours. Both sides are paid by the taxpayer and it is about time they both realised the gravy train is grinding to a halt with hostile taxpayers wanting their blood!
Boris on a bike needs to show that he is not just the dumb-blond and stop paying Coleman and co. for more than one public sector role. Then deal with the Fire Service staff. Until he does he will lose more and more votes.
- Mike, Sutton, 28/11/2010 18:10
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dont know about joining assett co , he will have to join the line of senior LFB managers waiting to join up, also when this dispute is over what happens to all the LFB communications people who post PRO coleman and dobsons comments on here ?
- john, hornchurch, 27/11/2010 12:34
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I think there's a lot of Mr Coleman suporters with brown stuff on their noses
- bazza, London, 27/11/2010 08:10
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You have something on chin Coleman ..................................not that one.
- Steve, london, 26/11/2010 22:26
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How long before Coleman turns up on the board of Assett Co?
- Theodore Tugboat, The Peoples Republic of Plumstead, London. SE18, 26/11/2010 22:25
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Being disciplined by his Worship must be like being savaged by a sheep, anyway it must be against the fire chiefs "human rights" to be treated in this way.
- stuart, chesterfield,derbyshire, 26/11/2010 21:03
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I believe this shows his poor negotiating capabilities. Any manager worth their salt would never say such a thing about their workforce - at least not sober - if they really did value them. I know there are serious concerns on both sides still, but in the words of W S Gilbert (he of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) "Quiet, Calm deliberation disentangles every knot".
- Gatedweller, The People's Republic of Newham, 26/11/2010 20:06
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Good on you Brian. Never afraid to tell it as it is. Shame Boris has not got the balls to back him up. As for Red Ken. If you think you'll get re-elected jumping on the bandwagon you better think again.
- Dan, London, 26/11/2010 19:36
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Same old rubbish if you cant beat someone with a good argument say something stupid.I can see why you people support Mr Coleman maybe you have the same mentality.I cant believe anything this so called politician says,but I suppose that's his job to pull the wool over peoples eyes
- bazza, London, 26/11/2010 18:36
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Sack Him , Sacl all the idiotic managers tht are destroying public services , and demoralising the good people that work within with there nasty poisonous agenda.
Frank you are selfish good for nothing waste of space, you do not understand public servants , why? , because you are only in it for yourself, your right wing bile went out with Queen Victoria, go back to the 19th century where u and your ilk belong.
- Brian, Wiltshire, 26/11/2010 18:23
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Entrenched attitudes and self-interest from both sides....just over different issues, that's all.
- SEJ016, Down South, 26/11/2010 18:07
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I cant believe people want to support someone who wants to make your emergency services less affective ,rather than support your own emergency service providers
- bazza, London, 26/11/2010 17:57
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"Whatever happened to free speech and freedom of expression in this Country???" To Paul, this issue is not about free speech it is about Brian Coleman being able to work well with people that he disagrees with. Whatever job you have, being a professional is about working well with people you disagree with in order to make achievements at work. It not much different to a manager calling her staff thick, thugs and bullies.
- Lydia, London, 26/11/2010 17:40
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Go on you bunch of plebs keep slagging off fire-fighters at your peril,you'll be sorry. You don't know what you got until its gone,we used to have Police stations open all the time once,and A&E departments in most hospitals.Just remember who you believed when you've got no local fire station.So you believe Mr Coleman you poor fools.
- bazza, London, 26/11/2010 17:18
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R.F.York, maybe you should thank all those thick stupid bullies for your right to tea breaks, lunch breaks, sick pay, holiday pay, employment rights ect ect, because without them do you honestly think greedy employers would have given us those things without unions forcing them to? or perhaps you are yourself a greedy employer and don't like the fact that ordinary hard working people found a way to stand up for themselves.
can't you sun reading thicko's see that without gobby coleman stiring this up, this would never have come to a strike? even now he's there trying his hardest to cause more strife. why am i bothering to comment to you people, you're brain washed already and there's no helping any of you. have a nice christmas and be carefull with your lights, coleman has taken 27 fire engines away so god only knows if we'll get to you in time!!!
- tom, london, 26/11/2010 16:34
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Pat the post is back, as gormless as ever, failed FF, to thick to pass the entrance exam, and a Boris supporter wonder why? go figure.
- Steve, london, 26/11/2010 16:22
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Yeah the truth does hurt and there is no room for honesty in politics of any colour.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 26/11/2010 16:18
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As if we have not got enough unthinking right wingers on here,we are now getting those north of Watford chiming in.Coleman is a bully himself.If this dispute is to be settled he should play no further part in it.
- colin, barking essex, 26/11/2010 16:16
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So, suddenly our Boris, that ardent studier of the Classics has abolished freedom of expression.
What would the ancient Greeks say Boris?
Go hang your head in shame.We had all that stuff and nonsense never-the-the-truth with Tony Blair and his cohorts. if you go down the same road Londoners will kick you into touch.Never to be allowed public office again.
We haven't forgotten the old age pensioner who was man-handled out of a meeting because he shouted,'nonsense.' at a Labour speaker.
- Nora Kane, London, 26/11/2010 16:03
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Whatever happened to free speech and freedom of expression in this Country??? Why fine people for telling the truth?? Boris get yourself and cameron etc off your backsides and do something about the power of the Unions before they drag us deeper into the crap, no doubt you haven't got the cojones.
- Paul McCarthy, Barton upon Humber, Nth. Lincs., 26/11/2010 15:06
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All union leaders are thick, stupid bullies - these are prerequisites to becoming a union leader. (I prefer the word "thugs")
- R.F.York, Yorks, UK, 26/11/2010 15:03
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Surprisingly, Brian Coleman is more fitting to Ken Livingstone as their style of bargaining are the same, Arrogant and confrontational.
Whilst I appreicated the job needs someone who will stand up to the unions I can't help thinking the fire brigade as well as London in general would be better without Mr. Coleman full stop!
- Jock S. Trap, London, 26/11/2010 14:30
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Taxi for Brian Coleman .
- monkey for sale, London, 26/11/2010 14:14
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Boris, which of the words used do you consider inaccurate?. Or have you now become another PC fool, just like your predecessor Livingstone. The recent behaviour of the FFs on picket lines, and in particular their 'leaders', have shown that they are thick, stupid, bullies..
- Pat, Islington, 26/11/2010 13:50
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