Allen 'vindicated' after tribunal ruling

Former Sunday Independent crime correspondent Liz Allen has said she feels vindicated after winning her constructive dismissal case against the newspaper.

Ms Allen was awarded £70,000 compensation at the Employment Appeals Tribunals today over allegations of bullying and harassment during her four-year term with the Sunday Independent.

Speaking afterwards, she said: "I never willingly chose to go this route. I went this route because I felt I had no other option . . . As far as I'm concerned, the Sunday Independent tried to destroy my career."

Ms Allen resigned from the newspaper in September 2000, saying the two most senior people in the newsroom had never acknowledged her and made her feel "like a piece of dirt".

She said her re-instatement at the newspaper would have been unworkable following her resignation.

In a 20-page ruling today, the Employment Appeals Tribunal agreed that she was bullied and harassed by other newsroom staff.

The journalist herself said it is an ordeal she now wants to put behind her.