London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Catholic worker receives £500k in British Army case

Catholic worker receives £500k in British Army case

A Catholic civilian worker who had to leave her job over alleged harassment by her Army boss is set to receive more than £500,000 in compensation.

Bronagh Murray, 51, took a religious and sexual discrimination case against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after retiring due to ill health in 2019.

The award, made by the fair employment tribunal in Belfast, is believed to be one of the biggest of its kind.

Ms Murray said the ruling was a complete vindication.

She said: "I was left feeling absolutely humiliated and horribly isolated."

'Cougar' comment


The mother-of-two, from County Down, had worked as an administrative officer at the MoD for 19 years.

The comments were alleged to have been made by a captain at the Army's Thiepval Barracks in County Antrim in 2017.

Ms Murray said the officer, who cannot be identified for security reasons, repeatedly referenced her religion in front of others in the office.

She claimed he said: "I need back up, I have an Irish Catholic girl armed and dangerous, come quick, need help."

Ms Murray said the officer again referenced her religion in an office conversation about a concert, when he said: "I bet you have tried to steal a cone, that is the Catholic coming out in you."

She also claimed sexual discrimination after she was described as "the big cougar".

Her boss was disciplined and transferred to another military posting after she made a complaint.

Due to a deteriorating psychiatric condition, Ms Murray was pensioned off from the civil service in August 2019.

The tribunal awarded Ms Murray about £70,000 to cover injury to feelings, psychiatric injuries, loss of previous earnings and interest.

Future lost earnings for Ms Murray, who had not been due to retire from the civil service until 2038, are expected to come to more than £500,000.

Her solicitor Brian Archer said: "It is anticipated that the final monies to be paid to Ms Murray by the Ministry of Defence will be in the region of £560,000.

"This award is one of the highest that the tribunal has had to adjudicate upon."

'I'm a strong, resilient woman'


Ms Murray said she now wanted to start rebuilding her life.

"I had an immaculate civil service history from the age of 21, it was all I ever knew," she said.

"But I was offered no support and just left to get on with it.

"It felt like I was only a female and a Catholic, I was the one making waves and rocking the boat.

"But I was prepared to see this through. I'm a strong, resilient woman - right is right and wrong is wrong."

Ms Murray's solicitor Brian Archer said she was "not prepared to be a victim" of sectarianism or sexual discrimination


Mr Archer added: "As a result of this Army captain's conduct, a lady who was a highly-respected and well-regarded civil servant has suffered a severe psychiatric condition, loss of confidence and faces a slow road back to full recovery.

"Not only am I amazed and shocked at this officer's conduct, but that no one else in the office where she worked intervened at any stage to stop Ms Murray being repeatedly abused because of her religion and sex."

Speaking later to the BBC, the solicitor said his client's life had "totally changed" as a result of the harassment but he commended her determination in pursuing her case.

"Prior to April 2017 she was happy in her occupation as a civil servant," he explained.

"This wasn't an isolated incident, this happened several times over a period of months. This happened [when] other military personnel were present in the room, and it isn't a question of banter," he said.

"They have a duty of care to their staff - their civilian staff as well as military staff - and the Army should not tolerate such behaviour now, then or in the future."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×