A long-standing council employee has won a tribunal after being sacked for using the 'n-word' in full during an internal meeting.

Ian Stevenson had an unblemished 32-year career working for the London Borough of Redbridge shattered when he was dismissed, without notice, last July.

He claimed he was unfairly sacked for gross misconduct for using the 'n-word' in full during an internal training course on anti-radicalisation on 11 February.

The claimant accepted he used the phrase during the session while discussing racist attitudes during the 1980s.

He said he had only used the word after the facilitator of the course had described the discussion as a "safe space".

In her report of proceedings, tribunal judge Imogen Noons said: "Although the course was about radicalisation, the claimant's evidence on the first day of this hearing was that he raised the issue of racism, specifically around Jewish jokes, stereotypes and websites.

"During the course of this session the claimant asked a question of the facilitator around when situations should be reported as racism, as sometimes it was unclear.

"She asked him to give an example and the claimant relayed a situation he had been in in 1985 when a black person had referred to his then girlfriend, who was also black, using the N word.

"In the course of relating this example the claimant used the N word in full. The claimant accepts that he said the N word in full.

"The claimant said sorry in the training session after he had used the N word and no-one at the session said to the claimant he should not have used the N word in full."

But after the course, two attendees complained to a senior manager about his use of the word.

One of the complainants specifically made clear to the respondent how significant an impact the use of the full word had on him.

Judge Noon said the use of the language was appalling, but upheld the claim for unfair dismissal from his role as an applications support officer as no other remedies for disciplinary action, such as mediation, were sort.

She added: "I find that the respondent held a genuine belief that the claimant was guilty of misconduct. The claimant had admitted using the N -word during the training course.

"This belief in all the circumstances was reasonable. However, I am mindful that the range of reasonable responses test applies to all aspects of what the respondent did and that I must not fall into error in substituting my view for that of the reasonable employer."

She said he had also shown remorse by apologising for his actions despite claims by the council to the contrary.

Compensation will be decided at a future hearing.