Would you like a pink gun, policewoman in sex discrimination case is asked

The former firearms officer, identified as Miss M for security reasons, said she considered it rude of the man, Chief Inspector H, to ask if she would like a pink firearm at the end of a recruitment day.

He later said he was sorry, the Central London Employment Tribunal considering Miss M’s claim against North Yorkshire Police was told.

Michael Paulin, representing Miss M, said Inspector H had also apologised in the email for calling all of her team members “gents”, even when she was present.

Mr Paulin asked the policewoman: “You didn’t really take the apology that you had from Chief Inspector H terribly seriously. Why was that?”

Miss M replied: “We worked in the same building when he emailed to apologise to me. It would have come across as much more genuine had he asked me to go to his office.

“It was so obvious that he was angry with me. He didn’t like me. I can tell you that he ignored me every time he saw me.”

Miss M also claimed that sexist comments had been made about a female colleague of hers, identified only as PC K.

She told the tribunal that Chief Inspector H told the colleague’s husband he had “enjoyed watching her fitness test”.

Miss M explained a video had been made of Pc K taking part in a physical test, and that Chief Inspector H had later commented that he “had enjoyed watching her run up and down in shorts”.

The policewoman added: “Her husband expressed his disgust at it.”

Miss M was trained as a firearms officer but went back to being a policewoman after failing a training course, the tribunal has heard.

She claims she was not offered the chance to be reassessed, as some male colleagues were.

The tribunal has also heard that Miss M claims she was that female officers did not have loud enough voices to take part in operations, and that in one training exercise she was left humiliated when she was led to a cabinet which contained pornographic magazines.

North Yorkshire Police denies the claims of discrimination made by Miss M. The hearing is due to resume tomorrow morning.