Drunken grope? No, it was just an Italian-style greeting, says UK culture chief
Envoy in Rome wins unfair dismissal case after sexual harassment claim
A BRITISH Council envoy accused of groping has won a tribunal after claiming he simply gave a woman a ‘normal Italian greeting’.
Paul Sellers faced accusations of drunkenly kissing the woman on the mouth and stroking her breasts just before she left a party.
But he claimed he only gave her a kiss on each cheek and said his actions were simply the traditional Italian style.
His wife had been at his side at the time of the alleged incident and several witnesses also saw nothing untoward.
But despite this, he was sacked from his £80,000-a-year role as head of the British Council in Italy following an investigation.
An employment tribunal has now ruled, however, that the probe had been ‘seriously flawed’ and that he was unfairly dismissed.
It found that evidence – including the accounts of six witnesses – was ignored. Instead investigators had chosen to believe the ‘hazy’ account of the woman – despite admitting they were not ‘100 per cent sure what happened’.
Mr Sellers had been hosting a Christmas party at his flat in Rome when the alleged incident occurred. He was then investigated after his accuser – a British Embassy staff member – complained of sexual harassment.
This led to him being dismissed from his role after 30 years’ service with the British Council.
Mr Sellers, who previously held senior posts in India and the United Arab Emirates, is now due to receive compensation, yet to be set, at a later date.
The British Council is a government institution which establishes cultural relations between the UK and other countries.
Mr Sellers was appointed the Council’s country director for
‘Witness accounts were ignored’
Italy in 2014. About 50 people attended the party on December 16, 2018, the tribunal in central London heard.
Mr Sellers drank ‘two or three’ glasses of wine and was seen dancing. His accuser, named only as ZZ, said goodbye to him in the kitchen at around 4.30pm.
The next day, she alleged she was sexually harassed. Claiming he was ‘quite drunk’, she said: ‘As I went to kiss him goodbye he kissed me twice on the side of my mouth [rather than the cheek] and then he stroked my breasts with both his hands.
‘I was very shocked so I didn’t respond immediately and left the party. There were other people in the room but I do not know if they witnessed it.’
Ken O’Flaherty, the embassy’s deputy head of mission, said the alleged groping was ‘clearly deliberate’ and warranted investigation. Mr Sellers vehemently denied the allegations and told investigators: ‘People would get a kiss on both cheeks.’ He said he gave Italian farewell greetings – salutos – to people as they left the party. He had ‘no specific recollection’ of saying goodbye to ZZ.
His wife Isadora Papadrakakis, an art historian, said ZZ was ‘new and not really integrated into the embassy’ and she ‘had the impression ZZ was not in high spirits’.
Miss Papadrakakis was ‘certain Mr Sellers wouldn’t lay a hand’ on ZZ, who ‘may be conservative about the Italian style of greeting’.
Deputy chief executive of the British Council, Kate Ewart-Biggs, led the investigation which saw Mr Sellers dismissed in May 2019.
He provided witness statements to back up his version of events at the appeal stage but his case was thrown out by Sir Ciaran Devane, then-head of the Council.
The tribunal found Miss EwartBiggs took a ‘narrow view’ of the incident, failed to explore the alleged contact and the circumstances surrounding it, made no attempt to interview witnesses and assumed nobody else saw it.
Among the witnesses not considered was a woman who was next to ZZ and Mr Sellers at the time.
She described the event as ‘a kiss on each cheek followed by a hug’ and said it was ‘friendly and straightforward’.
The female witness said: ‘The interaction took place in direct proximity and clear view of a number of other guests including two of Paul’s children... not a single one of whom appeared to register anything remotely unusual.’
Ruling Mr Sellers was unfairly dismissed, employment Judge Graeme Hodgson said: ‘No reasonable employer would have failed to... explore the circumstances of the alleged assault, or to seek relevant evidence from witnesses to the alleged incident.’
A British Council spokesman said yesterday: ‘We are committed to investigating all complaints of sexual misconduct thoroughly. We are disappointed by the decision of the employment tribunal. We are unable to comment further on individual cases.’