An award-winning nurse has been struck off the UK nursing register after sharing a series of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim posts on social media, with regulators ruling that her conduct posed a risk to public trust in the profession.
Roberta Batchelor, a senior nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, was removed from the register by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) following a disciplinary hearing into posts she made online from August 2024.
The panel found that her comments and shared images “sought to cause offence to immigrants and those of Muslim faith” and amounted to serious professional misconduct.
Racist and inflammatory posts
The NMC heard that Batchelor shared multiple posts on Facebook portraying immigrants and Muslims in a negative and inflammatory light.
These included:
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An image of Arab men allegedly chasing a child with a knife, captioned with a claim that UK taxpayers fund the “protection of mosques”.
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A split image contrasting migrants arriving by boat with a homeless military veteran, captioned: “These give nothing and get everything” versus “These give everything and get nothing.”
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A post referencing a biblical passage warning that foreigners would gain power and eventually “be your rulers.”
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A final image comparing airport security checks with an individual arriving at Dover by boat, implying unequal treatment.
The hospital trust received a complaint from a member of the public, triggering an internal investigation that confirmed the posts were made from Batchelor’s account.
Admission, apology and removal from nursing
Batchelor admitted to making the posts and apologised, telling investigators she had acted out of anger over political issues, including government cuts to winter fuel allowances.
She said she had been “caught up in all the unrest in the country” and later described herself as “disgusted” by her own behaviour, noting that members of her family are from ethnic minority backgrounds.
In an extraordinary move, she asked to be removed from the nursing profession altogether, saying she no longer felt she deserved the privilege of practising.
The NMC accepted that her actions amounted to serious misconduct and concluded that her apology did not demonstrate sufficient insight or reflection.
A dramatic fall from a celebrated career
Batchelor’s removal marks a stark end to a 40-year NHS career, during which she rose from cleaner to ward manager. In 2015, she received a Pride of Nursing Award in Birmingham.
She was also previously featured by her hospital trust in promotional interviews, including a video celebrating diversity and inclusion within the NHS — a video that has since been deleted.
In that interview, she spoke about growing up in a multicultural environment and said she struggled to understand prejudice when she moved to Birmingham.
Regulator’s ruling
In its final decision, the NMC panel said Batchelor’s conduct represented “deep-seated attitudinal issues” and was fundamentally incompatible with remaining in the profession.
The panel concluded that allowing her to continue practising would risk harm to the public and seriously undermine confidence in nursing and in the regulator itself.
Batchelor was formally struck off the register, ending her nursing career.
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