John Crone

Introduction

John Crone is a Glasgow social care worker with more than 20 years in the sector who was struck off by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) after a panel found he had abused a vulnerable man in the man’s own home and made racist and sectarian remarks to colleagues. At an SSSC hearing in May 2026, the panel found his behaviour was “serious, constituted misconduct and his fitness to practice was impaired”. Crone denied all the allegations, was reinstated once by his employer after an initial dismissal, and continued working until his registration was suspended in February 2026 and then removed.

Background Information

Crone worked in social care in Glasgow for more than two decades. One of the people he supported, referred to in the proceedings as AA, required round-the-clock one-to-one care, 24 hours a day, in his own home. AA wore a protective apron as part of his care, which Crone would often take off. Two colleagues, referred to as YY and ZZ, were black and of African origin and worked alongside Crone in AA’s care team.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations vs. findings. The claims in this section were found proved by an SSSC panel on the civil standard applied in regulatory proceedings. They were never admitted by Crone, who denied all of them — including denying being racist — and no criminal proceedings were reported. The panel’s findings are regulatory findings, not court adjudications.

The panel found Crone was “aggressive and controlling”, which had the “potential to cause significant emotional harm” to AA. It found that on an occasion between January and September 2023, Crone held the back of AA’s protective apron down around his neck to prevent him removing it. On more than one occasion between February and April 2023, Crone was found to have told him “get that f***king on,” or words to that effect, as well as tucking the apron into his trousers to prevent him taking it off. The panel also found Crone told a colleague how he had physically restrained the man whilst cutting his hair.

Around the same dates, the panel found Crone referred to colleagues YY and ZZ in a “disparaging and disrespectful manner to other members of the team”, “demonstrated and expressed views of a discriminatory nature based on race and religion”, and used a sectarian slur about Celtic fans.

The hearing statement read: “The Panel considered that your conduct was serious and constituted misconduct. Your conduct towards AA was aggressive and controlling. You used abusive language to get AA to comply by keeping his apron on. You prevented AA from removing his apron when he wished to do so. You did so in an overbearing and intimidatory manner despite AA being a vulnerable service user in your care.” It continued: “You spoke of your colleagues YY and ZZ in a disparaging and disrespectful manner to other members of AA’s care team.” The panel further found: “You demonstrated and expressed views of a discriminatory nature based on race and religion.” The statement added that Crone spoke to his colleague “in terms indicating that it may be acceptable to use physical restraint on AA if this was required, such as when cutting his hair.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

Crone denied all the allegations. He denied being racist and said he worked with people of all backgrounds over many years, and that he also had black relatives who visited from America. He also denied talking about football at work or using sectarian language.

His employer initially dismissed him in August 2023, but he was reinstated in July 2024 following an appeal, and continued to work until a temporary suspension order was placed on his registration in February 2026. The SSSC subsequently removed him from the register.

Current Status

Crone is struck off the SSSC register and can no longer work in any role requiring social care registration in Scotland. The removal followed a finding that his fitness to practise was impaired, with the panel’s findings spanning the mistreatment of AA and the discriminatory remarks about colleagues. The sources reported no appeal against the removal and no criminal proceedings arising from the same conduct.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The striking-off ended a care career of more than 20 years, and did so at the second attempt: Crone had already survived an employer dismissal in 2023 through the appeal process, and only the regulatory route — first a temporary suspension, then removal — produced a permanent exit from the sector. The case turned on the panel preferring the accounts of what happened in AA’s home and in the care team over Crone’s own denials, on the civil standard that governs SSSC hearings. The findings — controlling behaviour toward a profoundly vulnerable service user, and discriminatory remarks toward black colleagues — were treated by the regulator as fundamentally incompatible with continued registration despite his long service record.