'Protestant abuse prompted suicide bid' says ex-soldier

A Catholic former soldier claims he attempted suicide after being subjected to a campaign of constant sectarian abuse, threats and harassment by Protestant colleagues, a Northern Fair Employment Tribunal heard today.

Patrick Murphy, 33, from the South Down area, but originally from Catholic west Belfast, claims that after he joined the Royal Irish Regiment in 1996 fellow soldiers left bullets and sectarian notes in his locker and made abusive telephone calls to his wife.