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Savills employee caught up in racism scandal claims his Twitter was ‘taken over by a third party’

The company also reiterated the stance that it has "a policy of zero tolerance on any form of racial abuse or discrimination".

Emily Sergeant - 12th July 2021

Savills has this afternoon issued an updated statement following confirmation that an investigation was launched into vile racist tweets posted by an alleged employee at its Manchester branch.

The leading nationwide property company – which has a city centre branch based on Booth Street – issued its first statement regarding the incident on social media this morning after abhorrent discriminatory posts were discovered to have been made just after 11pm last night when England lost to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

The company confirmed in a statement that it was “immediately investigating and will take appropriate action.”

Addressing the situation involving the alleged member of staff in its initial statement, Savills said: “Savills is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our workforce.

“A full investigation will be carried out in regards to this unacceptable incident.”

The statement continued: “Savills abhors and has zero tolerance to any form of racism and racial discrimination and is appalled by the racist comments in these tweets.”

It is now understood that the employee in question is from Manchester, and when approached for comment, the MEN reported that Savills’ Head of Office, James Evans, said: “We were made aware of these appalling tweets and we are shocked by what we have seen.”

Asked if any member of staff had been suspended as a result of the tweets, Mr Evans said: “We have to go through a proper procedure.”

Greater Manchester Police has also confirmed it received complaints about the post, adding in a statement that: “Reports from across the UK are being collated by United Kingdom Football Policing Unit and The Metropolitan Police and will then be allocated to the relevant forces for further investigation if required.”

Now, following initial investigations, Savills has issued an update.

The firm said in a statement posted to Twitter: “Savills confirms that the member of staff connected with the racist comments placed on Twitter claims that his account was taken over by a third party and that matter is being referred to the Greater Manchester Police.

“Savills has acted swiftly and confirms that the individual is suspended from duty pending the findings of this investigation, which is being progressed as a priority.”

The company also reiterated the stance that it has “a policy of zero tolerance on any form of racial abuse or discrimination”.

Further updates are anticipated to follow.

The updated statement by Savills comes after it was sadly confirmed that players Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho – who each missed a penalty – have all been subjected to disgusting racist discrimination on social media – despite being part of a team that provided the nation with so much hope over the last month.

The FA said it “strongly condemns” and has labelled “disgusting”.

The footballing body added: “We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team [and] we will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.”

“We stand with our players,” the England team said on Twitter.

Featured Image – Savills