A DWP worker says she resigned after being pulled into disciplinary meetings and threatened with dismissal - because she shared Reform party posts on Facebook.

Michelle Cochrane, 45, had been working as an administration officer in the pensions department at DWP since July 2021 and loved it.

But the civil servant, from Blyth, Northumberland, held different views to the government regarding immigration and how taxes are spent.

Around the time of the general election, she began sharing Labour-critical Facebook posts on her personal Facebook - 14 between June and July.

They related to immigration, the release of prisoners early, and the handling of public finances by Labour - and two she added her own comments to the post.

Michelle worked at DWP since 2021.Michelle worked at DWP since 2021. (Image: SWNS)

There were 11 Reform posts shared, one by the UK Independence Party, one including a Daily Express news article and one by Nigel Farage.

Her profile didn't have any references to her work or employers, she says, but in August Michelle was invited to attend a disciplinary meeting.

She was warned that an investigation would be undertaken into the posts she shared and if she was found to have committed gross misconduct she would likely be dismissed.

During the meeting, Michelle argued she had a right to 'freedom of speech' - and claimed other colleagues had shared posts from other political parties without facing repercussions.

In the end, Michelle felt "railroaded" into resigning as she felt her dismissal was a "foregone conclusion" and wanted to protect her mental health, she said.

The DWP have declined to comment. The DWP have declined to comment. (Image: SWNS)

Michelle said: "It's been traumatic. I felt I had no choice to resign.

"I deleted my whole Facebook account as soon as I realised it was an issue.

"The majority of what I was posting was just reposts from the Reform party's Facebook - I wrote a couple of things myself but nothing extreme.

"I feel like if I reposted things from the Labour Party I would have been ok. 

"Colleagues have done that before and no action was taken.

"The meeting was supposed to be a 'fact-finding' meeting but it sounded like it was already disciplinary.

"I felt I had no choice but to resign - I felt I was pushed in that direction."

Michelle said she has just a handful of close colleagues as friends, and only a few close family members knew what her job was.

Michelle felt that she had no choice but to resign.Michelle felt that she had no choice but to resign. (Image: SWNS)

Between June and July, she shared Reform posts relating to immigration, the release of prisoners early, and the handling of public finances by Labour.

She doesn't know how management at her work came to see the posts she shared on her private account, she says.

One post by Reform featured a picture of people on a boat at sea wearing life jackets and read 'watch the population explosion in real time’ and ‘Britain needs Reform’.

Another by Reform showed a picture of Labour party member holding money with text that states ‘£84 million to Africa & Middle East, more cash more boats’ and ‘Britain needs Reform’.

On one post by Reform she shared, Michelle had written alongside it, "never thought I would see the day when immigration is even a problem for a small town like Blyth. Time not to just limit it, but end it."

Another Reform post about Labour releasing 40,000 prisoners saw Michelle add a comment "Will they never learn from the past?".

There were 14 political posts in total - two of which Michelle claims were shared by mistake.

One of the 'accidental' posts was shared from a page called ‘Mick Ashton’ which said "Now you’ve stopped the winter fuel payments for pensioners there is no reason why you can’t stop all the hand outs for the boat people."

The other was a post shared from ‘UK Independence Party’ page and it is a picture of the inside of a prison with the text ‘Deport all foreign criminals. Britain shouldn’t house the worlds scum’. 

She was invited in August to the October disciplinary meeting and said she had to take around a month of time off on medical leave because the stress had triggered an anxiety disorder she had.

But she defended her actions in the consultation in October saying she had a right to "freedom of speech" and had only shared something from "a legitimate political party".

Michelle also claimed she was unaware that what she had done was wrong.

The member of staff conducting the consultation referred to an internal email reminding staff they shouldn't discuss politics on any work or personal platforms, sent in May, ahead of the election.

But Michelle claims she never saw it.

A post that Michelle shared.A post that Michelle shared. (Image: SWNS)

She said: "Ahead of the meeting I had to go on anti-anxiety medications because I was so stressed.

"It could have been a normal chat - I didn't know what I was doing was wrong so I didn't know to stop!

"My partner strongly suggested I resign after the meeting because I felt eventually I would be dismissed anyway."

After handing in her notice, Michelle's last day was on October 31 and she is now looking for new employment.

But she feels she has been treated unfairly - as she claims other colleagues have posted political comments on their own personal accounts.

A post that Michelle shared.A post that Michelle shared. (Image: SWNS)

She said: "If it was a banned or extremist party I'd get it - but it's a legitimate political party who have MPs.

"I thought it was illegal to discriminate against someone for their political beliefs.

"I think if it had been a more left-wing party I was supporting, it wouldn't have been an issue.

"If it's not ok, it should be a blanket ban for everyone, not just certain views."

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She added: "I'm starting to come to terms with the anxiety now, but I'm really angry with the way I've been treated.

"It's been extremely traumatic, I've needed counselling over what happened."

DWP declined to respond to a request for a comment, as they said they can't comment on individual staffing matters.