‘Hero’ bus driver says he wants apology after he was sacked after catching thief

A bus driver who was sacked after he chased down a thief to return a passenger’s stolen necklace said he would “be very happy” if Metroline apologised – but does not want to return to his job.

More than 100,000 people have signed a petition to support Mark Hehir, 62, who was sacked after he chased a thief who stole a passenger’s necklace before knocking them out in self-defence when they returned.

Mr Hehir, who worked in north-west London but is originally from Limerick, Ireland, said the support from the public has been “incredible” since an employment tribunal upheld Metrolink’s decision, a ruling first reported by the Press Association.

“I’d be very happy if Metroline made an apology and just admitted that they might have got it wrong.

“I’d like them to compensate me for lost earnings, that’s important, that they understand they got it wrong, that’s important for me,” he told the Press Association.

Asked if he would accept his job back, Mr Hehir said: “Absolutely not, you cannot work for a company that treats its staff like that.

“I’m not saying they treat the drivers bad, I’m just saying if anything does happen, it’s always the driver’s fault, they’ll come down on you heavy.

“You’re on your own, you’ve created a situation, now you get out of it, there’s no help.”

Mr Hehir, who described driving a bus as “an underpaid tough job”, said the support he has received online has been “incredible” but he does not think of himself as a “hero”.

“I’ve always felt I was justified in my actions, and it just seems that 99.5% of people agree with me,” he said.

“I’m actually looking for negative responses, and I just can’t find any, I mean, everywhere there’s thousands of messages.”

An online petition calling for Mr Hehir to be reinstated or compensated, launched by shadow justice minister Dr Kieran Mullan, has gained more than 100,000 signatures.

A GoFundMe page for Mr Hehir has raised more than £20,000.

He said that after the 2024 incident “I spent six days in hospital, because I got an infection from the guy’s tooth.”

“I ended up in ICU, I had two operations on my hand because of the infection, I was very, very close to losing my hand, I quote the surgeon, probably in the next three days if I didn’t get it seen to at the time.”

Mr Hehir added: “Even in that time I was still employed by the company, not one person from the company, HR or anyone else, rang me to ask how I was, and I thought that was a disgrace.”

He added: “Now I did get some help from the union, but that can only go so far.”

Mr Hehir, who currently works in a bar, said he was in bed when his story went online: “I didn’t know what was going on, but then my phone just started popping, going crazy.”

Politicians have backed the former bus driver with shadow justice minister Dr Kieran Mullan, shadow transport minister Richard Holden and Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservative group on the London Assembly, writing to Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan to demand “serious consideration of reinstatement or appropriate compensation”.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson wrote on X: “The sacking of a hero bus driver for knocking out a necklace thief says it all about the wet, woke, legalistic pettifoggers who run Starmer’s Britain.”

Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick posted on X: “Metroline should reinstate Mark and apologise for their disgraceful conduct.”

A Metroline spokesperson said: “The tribunal has upheld the dismissal as fair.”