BBC commentator sacked after lodging Covid concern

Former BBC Leicester City reporter Ian Stringer was sacked after blowing the whistle in relation to an alleged flouting of Covid rules, a court heard.

Mr Stringer was hired by BBC Leicester in 2008 after he appeared on the BBC's show The Apprentice.

Mr Stringer was suspended in 2021 and sacked the following year for what the BBC says was misconduct.

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, in July 2021, the then station editor Kamlesh Purohit had "instructed" one of the team to come into work despite them being "pinged" by the Covid app - something the tribunal was told was "a breach of Covid rules".

Mr Stringer said: "I felt bullied because I made a protected disclosure."

Speaking about his relationship with Mr Purohit, Mr Stringer said: "We had a difficult and challenging relationship. Post disclosure, it got considerably worse and toxic - it was bullying."

He said the investigation into his social media use began at a similar time as he made the disclosure to Mr Purohit.

He said there was "every chance" the two matters were related, adding: "It is odd 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 disclosure."

The tribunal had previously heard how Mr Stringer was given free use of a BMW 5 series and then an Audi A3 via 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 charitable run he was planning. His email to the firm mentioned his social media following. He was sent two watches free of charge.

The tribunal heard Mr Stringer had similar contact with a number of other companies, including the sport shoe firm Brooks, Big Bobble Hats and the insole company Enertor, with whom Mr Stringer became a brand ambassador.

None of these relationships were declared to the BBC, the tribunal heard.

The court was told Mr Stringer had, during the disciplinary process, compared his actions with those of Gary Lineker, Andrew Flintoff and Victoria Derbyshire, who, he said, had relationships with commercial entities outside the BBC.

Mr Stringer said the station's rugby reporter took on paid work to host events for the Leicester Tigers, while the then editor worked as a stand-up comedian in the city and performed at a location involved in a commercial partnership with the BBC.

"They are the standards that I followed - it could be Gary Lineker and Walkers Crisps or a reporter doing something for Leicester Tigers and getting money in the back of the pocket," Mr Stringer said.

Jesse Crozier, for the BBC, said the investigation into Mr Stringer's social media use and his protected disclosure were dealt with separately and looked into by people outside of 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 Mr Lineker was, unlike Mr Stringer at the time, not a BBC employee and referred to a letter relating to Ms Derbyshire's appearance on ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, in which she had been given "very clear instruction" on her obligations and responsibilities to the BBC.