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Lesbian soldier gets £190k payout for sexual harassment
THE Ministry of Defence has been ordered to pay nearly £190,000 to a lesbian soldier who was sexually harassed by a male sergeant at an Army base in North Yorkshire.
Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher was awarded a total of 186,895 after she won her claims against the Ministry of Defence at an employment tribunal in Leeds for sex discrimination, victimisation and sexual harassment; 30,000 of the payment is in respect of "injury to feelings".
The payout exceeds the 161,000 recently offered by the MoD to 21-year-old Marine Ben McBean, who lost an arm and a leg in a blast in Afghanistan.
It is also more than the 152,150 Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson, 24, received after suffering almost 40 separate injuries and losing his legs in Afghanistan.
The National Gulf Veterans' and Families' Association branded the amount of money awarded to Miss Fletcher as "obscene." Its spokesman Shaun Rusling said: "We don't agree with anyone being picked on but it is just Miss Fletcher's feelings that have been hurt."
Miss Fletcher's career collapsed after she was pestered for sex by her boss, named as Staff Sergeant Ian Brown, while she worked at the Royal Artillery stables at RAF Topcliffe.
The 32 year-old, originally from Sheffield, said the sergeant and other male colleagues tried to destroy her career because she spurned his advances.
Miss Fletcher handed in her notice in February this year after serving in the Army for 10 years.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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