Harassed Catholic soldier to seek compo

AN ex-soldier who claimed he was driven to the brink of suicide because of anti-Catholic abuse while serving with the Royal Irish Regiment is to seek compensation from the British Ministry of Defence, it was revealed yesterday.

The move followed an employment tribunal ruling which accepted 33-year-old Private Patrick Murphy was the victim of sectarian harassment while serving in Portadown, Co Armagh in 1998.

The victimisation was so bad that at one stage he tried to kill himself with car exhaust fumes, it was claimed.