Litigation lotto for Brit lesbian with hurt feelings

Richard Littlejohn:

An old trade union friend of mine who sits on industrial tribunals says the surefire way of hitting the jackpot is to claim sexual or racial discrimination.

Even if your case for wrongful dismissal isn't worth the paper it's written on, pretending to have been abused on the grounds of ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation is a home banker.

Tribunal members are so terrified of being accused of racism, sexism or "homophobia" that the complainant is always given the benefit of the doubt whether or not there's any solid evidence.

Lawyers advise their clients to bolt on allegations of discrimination just to be on the safe side - even if they've been sacked for gross incompetence or dishonesty.

And there's no limit on race or sex cases, so it's trebles all round.

Which is how a lesbian soldier stands to collect £400,000 from the MoD after complaining that she was subjected to sexual harassment from a male sergeant.

I've no idea what the truth is, but Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher is hardly a paragon of virtue.

The tribunal heard she distributed nude photos of herself to male squaddies, had sex in a stables with an Australian policewoman and drove a car with the number plate arranged to read "TART X".

Seems like a nice girl. Even if she's telling the truth about the harassment, it makes you wonder why she joined the Army in the first place. If she can't cope with unwanted advances from an NCO, what would she do if she ever came up against the Taliban - start crying and ring her lawyer?

Yet she's getting 400 grand for loss of earnings and 'hurt feelings'.

The obscenity of this settlement can be measured against the maximum £57,500 she would have received had she lost an arm or had both feet blown off.

She'd only have got £285,000 from the MoD if an accident had left her in a persistent vegetative state.

This award is an insult to all our brave men and women wounded and killed in battle. But it's par for the course these days.

...

There is more.

Perhaps she did get some unwanted attempts at a relationship from an NCO. It seems to me the proper response is to report the conduct to a superior officer who can demand that it stop. Of course that is not nearly as rewarding financially.