Tearful barrister claiming £33m for victimisation says she may 'lose the will to live' if her case fails

Published 17th Oct 2009

A barrister making a £33million discrimination claim has a history of launching race complaints and was once arrested for harassment, a tribunal heard yesterday.

Aisha Bijlani, who is taking her own prestigious law firm to an employment hearing, previously made at least two other race-related complaints, the panel was told.

The Indian-born barrister broke down in tears as she outlined the racism and victimisation she says she suffered at Four New Square chambers in London's Lincoln's Inn.

She told the hearing she may never recover from her ordeal at the hands of her bosses, and warned she could 'lose the will to live' unless she wins her case.

She also accuses the senior clerk, Lizzie Wiseman, of having extramarital affairs with two former heads of chambers, thought to be deputy High Court judge Justin Fenwick, QC, and part-time judge Roger Stewart, QC.

Mr Stewart, 46, a married father of three, has now moved in with mother-of-four Mrs Wiseman, 44.

She accuses the firm of hiring racist legal clerks who regarded her as an 'educated wog' and constantly undermined her, the tribunal has heard.

Dr Bijlani said they had driven her to clinical depression and left her £7million out of pocket in lost earnings to date. In total, she is demanding £33million, plus interest.

But Central London Employment Tribunal heard the barrister admitted having previously filed a discrimination complaint against Raglan Housing Association when she worked for them as a non-executive director.

She also conceded that she was once arrested for alleged harassment and that she 'may' have then made a race complaint against the duty solicitor who dealt with her case, but said there was an appeal pending and that it was 'a gross miscarriage of justice'.

Several times, Dr Bijlani, in her early 40s, wept in the witness box, and at one point she ran from the room crying.

She said: 'It is unrealistic to expect I will ever recover from the ordeals I have been put through. No human being should be allowed to feel so low.'

Dr Bijlani, who joined Four New Square in 1993, names the respondents in the case as Mr Fenwick, Mr Stewart, Mrs Wiseman and John Powell, QC, another former head of chambers.

They reject her claims and say she was not as good as other barristers, so never earned as much.

The hearing continues.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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