Santa volunteer who was sacked by charity says he was ‘gobsmacked’ by dismissal

A pensioner who was sacked from volunteering as Santa Claus over “anti-Labour” social media posts has declared that he won’t let the incident “ruin Christmas” for him.

Paul Cleary, 71, is a well-known figure in the South Yorkshire community of Wath-upon-Dearne, offering free Santa visits to families and appearing at light switch-on events with the Lord Mayor.