Allegations against RSPB warden ‘unfair and unproven’
A Coquet Island manager who was sacked by the RSPB, has now received a substantial undisclosed settlement from the bird charity.
A number of allegations were brought against Dr Paul Morrison which resulted in him losing his job of 38 years, while a team of local volunteers walked out in protest at the decision.
Dr Paul Morrison told The Ambler he was “devastated” by the accusations
As reported in the Daily Telegraph, Dr Morrison was alleged to have kept colleague Dr Ibrahim Alfarwi on Coquet Island for two months without a day off, and treated him like a modern-day slave.
The allegations came in the summer of 2022, at the same time as Coquet Island was seeing the outbreak of avian flu, which ultimately caused the deaths of thousands of birds on the RSPB run bird reserve.
As a result of the outbreak, staff and volunteers were described as struggling with an “insurmountable workload”. Poor weather also contributed to difficulties accessing the island.
Volunteers and researchers who had worked on Coquet Island for years said they found the accusations against Dr Morrison “hard to believe”, and many of them resigned in protest.
Coquet Island is an internationally important bird sanctuary, hosting over 60,000 nesting seabirds each year, including puffins, eiders, fulmar and kittiwake. The island is famously home to the sole UK colony of roseate terns, Britain’s rarest nesting seabird.
Lord Ridley, a former member of the House of Lords was a frequent visitor to the island. He expressed his shock at the RSPB’s judgement. Speaking on GB News he said: “The allegations, some of which were false and others certainly haven’t been proven, effectively amounted to a very unfair treatment of a very talented individual.”
Despite his denials of unacceptable behaviour and an offer to make changes that were required, the RSPB sacked Dr Morrison in March 2023.
Mounting a defence, Dr Morrison then brought a legal challenge against the RSPB, and in October this year, reached a settlement with the bird charity, receiving what the Telegraph described as “a substantial undisclosed sum”.
A spokesperson for the RSPB said “It is correct that this individual no longer works for us. The RSPB takes pride in being an organisation which is committed to ensuring that all employees and volunteers are treated fairly and reasonably. We will not be making further comment on issues relating to previous members of staff.”
The Ambler understands Dr Alfarwi no longer works on Coquet Island.
In July 2023 a different RSPB team took over the running of the bird reserve, and after a call for help in The Ambler, a new group of volunteers has been recruited to assist in managing the island for the future benefit of the birds and wildlife.
Anna Williams
