THE bursar of an Oxford University college was yesterday accused of being racist by an accountant who is suing the institution for almost £100,000.
Diamond Versi, former head accountant at Keble College, Oxford, claims Roger Boden pushed him out of his £47,000-a-year job because of his skin colour.
He told an employment tribunal yesterday that the bursar had carried out a "personal vendetta" against him, up until he was made redundant in April last year.
This allegedly included shouting and screaming at him, carrying out a fraud investigation against him and cutting him out of key decisions.
Mr Versi, 57, said that he was not the only one discriminated against. He claimed Mr Boden refused an Asian cleaner a staff loan for no good reason and tried to stop an oriental waitress joining the accounts department, on racial grounds.
Mr Boden denied all the claims and a lawyer representing Keble College told the tribunal that Mr Versi had made up the allegations.
The tribunal panel, sitting at Reading, heard that the accountant was dismissed in April last year as part of the restructuring of the small accounts department. His job was eliminated and his deputy given the new post of financial controller.
His lawyer, James Stuart, said that the reorganisation process had been "a sham" designed to get rid of him. He told how tensions first rose when Mr Boden had words with him about arriving late and finishing work early in November 2002.
Mr Versi said Mr Boden took the salary review as a chance to totally reorganise the department. "I pointed out to him that it was clear to me that he wanted to push me out of my job."
Ian Rees, representing Keble College, asked Mr Versi why he had not raised the allegations at the time the alleged events happened. He said: "If you thought Mr Boden was being racially prejudiced against you or a member of staff, shouldn't you have raised that question?"
Mr Rees also insisted there was a reasonable explanation for Mr Boden's denial of the loan request. The tribunal continues.
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