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Lesbian
“poisoned dwarf” spy awarded compensation by army
05 April 2006- A lesbian spy was awarded £12,000 in compensation
yesterday after an employment tribunal found that she had suffered a
catalogue of abuse whilst serving in the British Army's special forces.
30 year old Corporal Leah Mates told the hearing that she contemplated
suicide after she was groped, threatened and labelled as a “poisoned
dwarf” in reference to her slight stature during a ten year campaign of
persecution by male colleagues.
She claimed that she was dragged in the dirt by her hair and was forced
to share a tent with nine men, one of whom fondled her in an
inappropriate manner. On another occasion, she claimed that her
photograph was used for live target practice
Ms Mates was awarded compensation for six of the forty three charges she
alleged against the army. These included compensation for using her
photograph for target practice and “Leah is a dog” being scrawled upon
guard posts and desks.
The solider who served in the secret Special Reconnaissance Regiment on
assignments in Northern-Ireland was said to be "still digesting" the
award which was much less than the£686,000 she had demanded.
William Mackenzie, one of her lawyers, said: "We were quite pleased with
the level of compensation awarded and we hope the Army will learn the
lessons that should have been learnt long ago.''
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson claimed that it was too early to
comment on whether officers would face disciplinary actions but said:
“There is no place for sexual harassment or bullying of any sort in the
armed forces and we are committed at the highest level of leadership to
dealing with it.
“A great deal of work has been done over many years to tackle
inappropriate behaviour and we actively promote equal opportunities for
all our personnel.
“The armed forces take all complaints of harassment and discrimination
seriously, all such allegations are investigated thoroughly and where
proven appropriate action is taken.''
A statement released by the employment tribunal said: “We award
compensation for injury to feelings of £12,000, plus interest to be
assessed if not agreed.
“We find the claimant is not entitled to compensation for loss of
career.'
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