A former BBC Leicester City reporter was sacked after blowing the whistle in connection with an alleged breach of Covid rules, a tribunal heard.
Ian Stringer was hired by BBC Leicester in 2008 after appearing on the BBC show The Apprentice.
Mr Stringer was suspended in 2021 and dismissed the following year for misconduct, according to the BBC.
An employment tribunal in Leicester is hearing Mr Stringer’s claims that he was unfairly dismissed.
On the second day of the hearing, Mr Stringer told how then-station editor Kamlesh Purohit had ‘instructed’ one of the team to come to work in July 2021, despite being ‘pinged’ by the Covid app – something which the tribunal did. was told it was “a breach of Covid rules”.
Mr Stringer said: “I felt bullied for making a protected disclosure.”
Speaking about his relationship with Mr Purohit, Mr Stringer said: “We had a difficult and challenging relationship. After the disclosure it became significantly worse and more toxic – it was bullying.”
He said the investigation into his use of social media began at the same time he made the disclosure to Mr Purohit.
He said there was “every chance” the two cases were linked, adding: “It’s strange timing. My social media had not been a problem for so many years and then [the issue of his social media use] just happens a few days after my revelation.”
Brand ambassador
The tribunal had previously heard how Mr Stringer was given free use of a BMW 5 Series and then an Audi A3 through a company called Total Motion, which Mr Stringer ‘promoted’ on Twitter to his between 50,000 and 60,000 followers.
In 2021, Mr. Stringer contacted Garmin about a charity fundraiser he was planning. His email to the company mentioned his social media followers. He was sent two watches for free.
The tribunal heard that Mr Stringer had similar contact with a number of other companies, including sports shoe company Brooks, Big Bobble Hats and insole company Enertor, with whom Mr Stringer became a brand ambassador.
None of these relationships were reported to the BBC, the tribunal heard.
The hearing was told that during the disciplinary process Mr Stringer had compared his actions to those of Gary Lineker, Andrew Flintoff and Victoria Derbyshire, who, he said, had relationships with commercial entities outside the BBC.
Mr Stringer said the channel’s rugby reporter took on paid work organizing events for the Leicester Tigers, while the then editor worked as a stand-up comedian in the city and performed at a venue involved in a commercial partnership with the BBC .
“They are the standards I have followed. It could be Gary Lineker and Walkers Crisps, or a reporter doing something for Leicester Tigers and getting money in his pocket,” said Stringer.
The BBC’s Jesse Crozier said the investigation into Mr Stringer’s social media use and his protected disclosure were being handled and investigated separately by people outside BBC Leicester.
He said the initial concerns about Mr Stringer were not raised by Mr Purohit but by the then news editor.
Mr Crozier said that unlike Mr Stringer at the time, Mr Lineker was not a BBC employee and referred to a letter relating to Ms Derbyshire’s appearance in ITV’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, in which she had been given “very clear instructions”. instruction” on its obligations and responsibilities to the BBC.
The case continues.
