The mother of a young black firefighter who killed himself said a new investigation into his death that rejected claims he was subjected to bullying, harassment and discrimination at work was a “whitewash”.
Jaden Francois-Esprit’s family feared he had been bullied by London fire brigade (LFB) colleagues because of his race. However, the independent external review published on Tuesday found no evidence this was the case.
The 21-year-old killed himself at home in Wapping, east London, in late August 2020 soon after his birthday. He was neurodiverse and had dyslexia.
None of the allegations in the report, including that Francois-Esprit was unfairly singled out, teased about Caribbean food in his packed lunches and exposed to a toxic working environment, were upheld.
This report comes after an independent culture review of LFB, led by Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor for the north-west, released in November 2022, found the organisation to be institutionally misogynist and racist.
Tuesday’s report by CMP Solutions, commissioned by the LFB, did not uphold any of the seven allegations it investigated about specific examples of ill-treatment Francois-Esprit’s family said he experienced.
“This report is a whitewash,” Francois-Esprit’s mother, Linda Francois, said.
“I’m furious that the authors of the report have chosen not to acknowledge what Jaden shared with me about his feelings at work, how upset he felt and the frustration of feeling stuck to the extent he wanted to leave the brigade and considered employment with the London ambulance service.”
The report said Francois-Esprit might have had financial worries and mentioned that he might have found it difficult having a long journey from his flat in Wapping to work in Wembley, and that he ate sweets.
Francois said that neither his commute nor financial matters were issues for her son.
“His diet has nothing to do with how he was treated. His move to his flat was a happy occasion. It infuriates me that people who admit they did not know Jaden and did not ask about his personal life continuously try to sour those happy times,” she said. “This feels like a tick box exercise that justifies the negative treatment Jaden experienced.”
The LFB commissioner, Andy Roe, said that although the report found no evidence of bullying, harassment or discrimination of Francois-Esprit it did not mean his personal lived experience at the brigade was not a factor in his untimely death.
He said he was aware of the grief Francois-Esprit’s family continued to experience and that although the report did not uphold the family’s claims of ill-treatment, “that doesn’t mean we did not let Jaden down as an organisation”.
“It’s a matter of evidence and fact that his neurodiversity was not known about at Wembley fire station,” Roe said, adding that Francois-Esprit should have received better support from the LFB.
“We have an organisational responsibility to have done better. I know we let Jaden down organisationally. He should have had a long and happy fire brigade career ahead of him.”
The report rejected allegations that Francois-Esprit was unfairly singled out, teased about his Caribbean food and that his working environment was toxic.
Francois-Esprit had also raised concerns that other firefighters would roll their eyes when he made tea and ridicule him if he spilled any, was initially not assigned a locker and was given a bed in bad condition to sleep in.
Investigators said in the report: “It is possible that a cumulative lack of confidence, not least when speaking to an audience, Jaden’s working conditions with an initial lack of locker provision, the inadequacy of beds and consequent sleep issues, and the ‘tradition’ of making tea, could have had a disproportionate effect on Jaden due to his neurodiversity.”
They added: “Some of the comments made in Jaden’s presence might have been perceived as micro-aggressions.”
An inquest into Francois-Esprit’s death in February 2021 found he died as a result of suicide.
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
