Scandal of race payouts woman

A veteran race relations complainer has forced debt-ridden Hackney council to spend up to £100,000 fighting a "completely inappropriate" discrimination claim.

Natasha Sivanandan, 48, received an estimated £40,000 in legal aid for her claim - the third public complaint she has made of victimisation.

On Monday, His Honour Judge Goldstein threw out a claim for racial discrimination. While he awarded her £2,500 in "nominal damages", he said the case was not in the public interest and should never have received legal aid. Unemployed Ms Sivanandan was the voluntary chair of a casework group on a panel dealing with racial harassment in Hackney, which involved the council, local police and local community groups.

She lost her post during a restructuring of the organisation in 1999, but claimed it was because the council was annoyed by her complaints that it was not dealing properly with black victims of race crime.

She is no stranger to grievance procedures. In 1987, while employed as one of 47 race advisers at Brent council, she accused a Rastafarian colleague of being "macho and intimidating". And in 1993, while working as a trainee BBC producer, she won a large undisclosed payout after accusing the corporation of racism.

Last night she insisted it was Hackney's own fault that the case went to court. "I know they are under great financial strain, so I offered to go to an independent mediator to discuss whether I could have my job back and whether they would investigate the way I had been treated," she said.

"Instead they pressed ahead with the case, where they had a barrister, two lawyers and two members of staff sitting in full-time. It's a shame it had to go to court, but black people in Hackney have to have the protection of the Race Relations Act."

Denying her claims, a Hackney spokeswoman said that during the hearing Ms Sivanandan had demanded up to £28,000 to settle. "We could not possibly agree to those terms as this was a serious matter," she said. "The judge said this was a completely inappropriate case which was not in the public interest."

A formal statement from Hackney said: " Miss Sivanandan was awarded what the court described as 'nominal damages' for removing her from a harassment case work panel. However, the court also said that due to her influence on the panel, it did not operate effectively."

Last night the Labour-run authority, which is struggling to protect front-line services against a £ 50million debt, said it had to contest the matter because it involved accusations of racism which had to be taken "seriously". It denied the cost was £100,000.