‘Whistleblower’ faces disciplinary hearing

● Marine Scotland employee accused of gross misconduct and false statements

Acivilservantpicturedgagged and taped to a chair is facing a disciplinary hearing.

Scottish Government fisheries officer Deeann Fitzpatrick, 50, claimed the image showed her being punished for speaking out against male bullies over racism and misogyny.

But it has emerged she is to face a gross misconduct hearing. If the allegation is proved, she could be sacked.

The Marine Scotland employee is accused of making “false statements” about the incident.

She claimed she had been first restrained, then bound and gagged by colleagues in December 2010 after “blowing the whistle” about an incident in September of that year.

But investigators have concluded that the picture was not taken when she said it was. Electronic data embedded in the image confirms it was taken more than a year earlier, in August 2009, during what colleagues describe as typical “high jinks” at the office.

That was before Ms Fitzpatrick “blew the whistle” by claiming she had seen a male colleague try to throw a punch at a female worker in September 2010.

The Canadian-born fisheries officer, who lives in Caithness, is understood to be standing by her version of events.

Ms Fitzpatrick first spoke about the chair incident during an employment tribunal in late 2017. Ms Fitzpatrick said under oath: “I was taped to a chair by one of my colleagues and told, ‘This is what happens if you speak out’.”

Two of her male colleagues were subsequently investigated by the police over assault and abduction allegations. But officers decided there was no evidence to suggest any crime had taken place.

A human resources civil servant has written to Ms Fitzpatrick setting out the findings against her and inviting her to a hearing.

The civil servant told her that she has a case to answer over a series of allegations.

Ms Fitzpatrick is accused, among other offences, of using “deception with the intention of obtaining personal gain and causing loss to others”.

She was told in the letter: “It is alleged... you gave dishonest accounts of events, made false representations, concealed material facts and submitted documents which you knew to be false.”

The letter also includes a concluding statement given to investigators by Ms Fitzpatrick in which she is quoted as saying: “I can assure you that I was assaulted.

“I was restrained against my will and I was taped to a chair.

“I was gagged by a tape being placed over my mouth. As a woman I was violated, humiliated and degraded.”

Ms Fitzpatrick’s legal firm, Thompsons Solicitors, said she had no comment.

The Scottish Government said: “This complex and sensitive case, which impacts on a number of individuals, is the subject of an ongoing internal process in line with our HR policies.

“We do not discuss individual staffing matters.

“We have been consistently clear that all staff within the Scottish Government must be treated with dignity and respect.”