Sacked officer loses race claim

Danny Noble said he planned to show his colleague a clip of a singing hippo

A claim of racial discrimination and unfair dismissal by a police community support officer has been thrown out at an employment tribunal.

Danny Noble, 42, from Old Colwyn, Conwy, had shown a colleague pornographic images on his phone whilst on duty with North Wales Police.

He argued it was a mistake and white officers would not have been sacked.

Judge Donald Thompson said there was nothing to suggest the decision to sack him was tainted by race discrimination.

The two day hearing in Shrewsbury had heard that Mr Noble, who is Asian, had maintained there had been several cases where white officers and staff had not been suspended, and dismissed, for what he considered to be more serious offences.

'Mistake'

In one case a man and woman - both police officers - had lost ten days' pay but kept their jobs despite having community sentences for ill-treating their dogs, he said.

He claimed that there had been a mistake in his own case because what he intended to show a woman colleague was a humorous clip of a hippo singing.

They had been on duty at Prestatyn at the time and he did not know whether she had scrolled down by mistake, but he had no intention of upsetting her.

The judge said what had happened was gross misconduct and thoroughly merited dismissal.

"How could any employer regard it as otherwise," he said.

Mr Noble was ordered to pay £250 towards police costs, a nominal sum because of his financial situation.