Haha spoken like a true management stooge/apologist! With your new joiners date it seems to me you are a wee bit sensitive now that the tables have been turned and your "Buddy" Darren is learning a valuable lesson in relation to how people ought to be treated.
It's a shame really when pretty much everyone in the frontline of this industry would prefer to keep watching MOL sweat and squirm, but if not, a putrid HR lackey who's merely "following zee orders" will do for now