Nigel Middleton worked at the Hawk and Owl Trust for 21 years until he was suddenly made redundant in 2023, sparking concerns he was booted out for whistleblowing.

His ousting led to protests by volunteers working at the charity's Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve, near Fakenham. The demonstrators were later banned from entering the nature reserve.

Nigel Middleton has won his unfair dismissal court case against the Hawk and Owl Trust (Image: Nigel Middleton)

The row has culminated in an employment tribunal, which concluded that he was dismissed unfairly due to "procedural errors and a lack of valid reasons".

Judge M Warren, who presided over the case heard at Norwich Magistrates' Court, called his dismissal a "woeful tale of unfairness in process".

But Mr Middleton's other charge, that he was fired for whistleblowing, was not upheld.

Protestors gathered at Sculthorpe Moor in support of Nigel Middleton in 2023 (Image: Supplied)

TALONS OUT

According to court documents, Mr Middleton had worked for the Hawk and Owl Trust, which has its headquarters in Norfolk, since 2001 with little issue.

But tensions within the organisation began to emerge in 2019, three years after Adrian Blumfield was appointed chief operations director.

Two employees who worked under Mr Middleton were dismissed by Mr Blumfeld, which caused "unrest among volunteers", the court heard.

Adrian Blumfield, chief operations director of Hawk and Owl Trust........

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