Lesbian soldier wins £200,000 for taunts

A LESBIAN soldier who suffered a campaign of harassment by a male sergeant today won almost £200,000 in compensation.

Services groups branded the award "obscene" compared with payouts for injured troops.

Lance Bombardier Kerry Fletcher, 32, was pestered
for sex by her boss, Staff Sergeant Ian Brown, 40. He asked her to join in a threesome with another woman and boasted he could turn her "straight".

He told her she was gay because she had "not had a real man" and texted her boasting of his sexual prowess.

Leeds employment tribunal heard how Brown and other male colleagues tried to destroy her career because she spurned his advances. After she complained of harassment, Miss Fletcher had her mental stability questioned, it heard.

The tribunal awarded her £186,896 from the Ministry of Defence for sexual harassment at the Royal Artillery stables at RAF Topcliffe. It found the MoD had paid "no more than lip service to the concepts of equal opportunities".

It is believed to be the first time an employment tribunal has awarded exemplary damages in this country.

The National Gulf Veterans' and Families' Association described the award as "obscene". The MoD faces a further bill of £100,000 for its defence costs.

Miss Fletcher, who joined the military in 1996 and the 40th Regiment in 2004, has three more victimisation claims pending.