‘I was petrified... I realised they could do a lot worse to me’
Civil servant ‘was on brink of suicide after bullying’
A SENIOR civil servant said she was left ‘petrified’ after being allegedly taped to a chair and gagged by colleagues at a Scottish Government agency.
DeeAnn Fitzpatrick claims she was driven to the brink of suicide and became a virtual recluse after a decade of bullying at Marine Scotland’s office in Scrabster, Caithness.
She is seeking up to £42,000 in damages from her employers over a string of ‘malicious’ greetings cards she alleged came from her colleagues.
The 49-year-old’s case was heard last week, only a month after the picture of her tied to a chair and gagged emerged.
It was said to be retribution for earlier blowing the whistle on what she claims was the misogynistic workplace culture she faced every day.
The horrifying image prompted First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to call for an investigation.
In her first interview, the fisheries officer, who is originally from Canada, told BBC Scotland she was left ‘broken’ by her experiences. She said she was ‘morally and mentally destroyed’ by the bullying culture after telling management about the mistreatment of another female in the office.
Miss Fitzpatrick said this resulted in two colleagues confronting her in 2010.
She added: ‘They taped my legs and then they started to tape the rest of me and, because I was making a noise, one of them told the other guy, “Give me some tape. That shuts her up”.
‘He took the tape and he placed it over my mouth and then he said, “That’s what you get for speaking out against the boys”.’
Asked how she felt, Miss Fitzpatrick said: ‘I was petrified because I did not know what they were going to do to me.
‘The fact they could tape me to that chair said to me that they could do a lot worse and that is what frightened me.
‘At one point I became numb to the point I just froze.
‘I could not make a noise. I could not move… I just froze.’
A male colleague at the fisheries agency is said to have taken the photo of the cruel act in 2010.
However, the incident did not form part of employment tribunal evidence as it happened so long ago – known in legal parlance as a time bar.
Miss Fitzpatrick also claims colleagues looked at pictures of topless women in her company to annoy her and alleges she was mocked by a senior officer for miscarrying a baby.
She said: ‘As he hung up the phone he looked around the office and he said to the men, “I think I will go and have myself a miscarriage and take six months off work. It seems to have worked for some in here”.’
The employment tribunal in Aberdeen heard that she was pushed to the brink of suicide.
In yesterday’s interview she repeated claims of contacting Swiss assisted death clinic Dignitas. She said: ‘I made up my mind they had pushed me too far. I could not take it any more. I felt like I was a failure.
‘I felt like I had let my family down. I was a broken individual.’
Miss Fitzpatrick added: ‘I felt dead inside and that is an awful, awful feeling.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘As the First Minister and Permanent Secretary have made clear, harassment or abuse of any form is completely reprehensible and will not be tolerated in the Scottish Government.
‘This complaint is being taken seriously and is being fully investigated. Appropriate action will be taken once the outcome of the investigation is known.
‘The First Minister has asked the Permanent Secretary to conduct a full review of the circumstances of the case – including to ensure that there is a positive working culture in Marine Scotland.
‘An employment tribunal also heard evidence earlier this month, and we await its decision. Given the processes under way, it would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome by commenting further.’
A decision from the employment tribunal is expected in the next five to six weeks.
‘I was a broken individual’