Brian Leach says he wrote to colleagues and bosses to apologise (Picture: Ben Lack Photography, REX)

A disabled grandfather has been sacked by Asda for sharing an ‘anti-religion’ sketch by Billy Connolly on his Facebook page.

Brian Leach, who had worked at the Asda store for five years in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was let go by the supermarket after a colleague complained the comments in the sketch were anti-Islamic.

After the complaint, Mr Leach deleted the post from May and wrote an apology to his bosses and colleagues, MailOnline reported.

However, he was fired on Wednesday for breaching the company’s social media policy.


Mr Leach, who worked as a ‘meeter and greeter’ at the Asda store, announced the sacking on Facebook.

Brian says he was told he had breached the company’s social media policy (Picture: Ben Lack Photography Ltd)

He wrote: ‘Unfortunately, I have today been dismissed from Asda. Some of my colleagues took offence to the Billy Connelly, (sic), thoughts on religion, that I posted early May.



‘It’s been a pleasure working with my friends and serving the public of Dewsbury and I will miss my regular customers x.’

The video in question was Connolly’s ‘Religion is Over’, taken from his live stage act a number of years ago.

In the sketch, the comedian rails against religious followers of Christianity and Islam.

The Asda store in Dewsbury, where Brian Leach worked for five years (Picture: Google)

Some of the lines include: ‘Religion is over, lads, it’s f***ing over. Take your Reformation, your Vatican, your f***ing Mecca, and f*** off.

‘Suicide f***ing bombing – now there’s a bright idea. Every time there’s a bang the world is a w***er short. F***ing idiots.’

Mr Leach, said: ‘Asda have a social media policy and I breached the policy [by] having my employer listed [on my Facebook page] and because I have possibly brought the company name into disrepute.

Brian had shared an ‘anti-religion’ sketch by Billy Connolly on his Facebook page (Picture: Rex Features)

‘I have been fearful of getting a knife in my back because an Asian Colleague kindly took a photo of my profile post of Billy Connolly, and attached it to my photo and I have been very scared after it was shared on Instagram.’

An Asda spokesman said: ‘We would never comment on individual circumstances.

‘However, we do not tolerate any form of discrimination from colleagues or customers and take such behaviour extremely seriously.’

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