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UK Sikh cop denied promotion
sues, wins
WSN Network
London, Oct. 11: A Sikh police officer in Britain has won a claim of
victimisation against the Metropolitan Police after he was turned
down for promotion.
Detective sergeant Gurpal Virdi, 48, sued Scotland Yard for a second
time after being turned down for a promotion and won. In 2000, Mr
Virdi had taken the Metropolitan police to court after he was
falsely accused of sending racist hate mail to himself and ethnic
minority colleagues and sacked. He had won £240,000 in compensation
and was reinstated after the employment tribunal found that he had
been the victim of racial discrimination.
He launched the second case against his employers after he was
turned down for promotion to inspector in 2005.
Mr Virdi believes that his successful suit against the Metropolitan
police affected his promotion chances within the force. "My career
has been dead since 1997," he is quoted as saying by BBC News.
"I took the Met on for racism and they have not forgotten it. I’m
still doing the same job as sergeant since I was suspended so I’ve
not been working to my full potential." Mr Virdi claimed that his
previous dispute with the force had resulted in him being treated
"less favourably."
Mr Virdi’s initial application for promotion after his reinstatement
was approved at a local level by the recommending panel. However,
the recommendation was overturned by the Metropolitan police’s
central review panel.
The employment tribunal on Wednesday ruled that Mr Virdi had
suffered victimisation. It, however, rejected Mr Virdi’s racial
discrimination claim. His lawyer Mohinderpal Sethi, according to a
report in the Daily Mail, has claimed that rather than Mr Virdi
being paranoid, it was the Met police who overscrutinised anything
to do with him. "I welcome the judgment; it shows the MPS
(Metropolitan police service) is not learning lessons. Ethnic
minorities are still being discriminated against, victimised and
their promotion denied," Mr Virdi told the Guardian after the
tribunal judgment was made public on Wednesday.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said on Wednesday it was
"disappointed" that the tribunal had ruled Mr Virdi had been
victimised by the force. "Clearly the Met will give full and careful
consideration to the written decision of the tribunal. DS Virdi
remains a valued member of the Met and we will continue to provide
him with the appropriate support to meet his professional
development needs, as we do with all of our staff."
17 October 2007
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