Secretary 'was harassed after drinks session'

Published on Wednesday 27 April 2005 02:02

THE drinks company Diageo is facing an unfair dismissal claim from a woman who says she was sexually harassed after a drunken night at a training event in the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh.

Denise Swinton-Mitchell, 37, from Essex, who worked as a secretary, told an employment tribunal that a colleague, Rob Reeves, made suggestive sexual remarks, then burst into her room in the early hours, shouting: "I am trained to kill and I will kill you." She said she was crying and shaking.

The tribunal heard claims she had been running round the hotel at midnight, banging on doors and shouting.

Mr Reeves was suspended after a complaint and later resigned. An inquiry found "pornographic" e-mails said to have been exchanged between the pair before the trip.

Mrs Swinton-Mitchell was fired for racist conduct after the e-mails were found. She claims they were office "banter".

The tribunal continues.