Racist, homophobic colleagues 'violated Met officer's dignity'

A gay black Metropolitan police officer suffered a mental breakdown after colleagues bullied him and then attempted publicly to "out" his sexuality in a national newspaper.

Kevin Maxwell, a counter-terrorism officer who worked at Heathrow, was subjected to direct discrimination, harassment and victimisation over his race and sexual orientation, an employment tribunal ruled.

It found yesterday that a Met officer deliberately leaked a "distorted account" of the details of his claim to The Sun.

Reading employment tribunal ruled that Detective Constable Maxwell's dignity had been "violated" by demeaning racist and homophobic comments, and criticised Scotland Yard for failing to train officers to deal properly with ethnic minorities.

Mr Maxwell, 33, from Liverpool but living in Islington, said that he had had the illness "severe reactive depression due to my experiences of racism & homophobia as a public servant" diagnosed in 2009. Still a serving officer, he describes himself as a "filmmaker, writer & performer; social justice & equality ambassador" on his website and plans to write a memoir about his "three-year fight for justice".

On his website, he says: "In July 2010 I learned that The Sun newspaper unlawfully possessed my private data, and was going to publish this along with a negative story about me because I had raised discrimination within the workplace.

"The deliberate leak by my employer tried to discredit me and stop my complaints from being heard, threatening to make public my sexuality, mental illness and sensitive job. This was a turning point in my life with me never allowing myself to be bullied or blackmailed again."

The Sun agreed not to run the story after a journalist was told by the Met's human resources director that an article would cause him "distress".

Detective Constable Maxwell, who worked within the Specialist Operations (SO15) Counter Terrorism Command Special Branch at Terminal 5, told the hearing of a string of incidents of homophobic and racist abuse starting in March 2009.

Judge Byrne ruled that the comments and actions of colleagues had the effect of "violating [his] dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment".
Scotland Yard said that it was disappointed at the tribunal's findings and would hold an internal investigation.