An Army nurse is suing the Ministry of Defence for £1.2million – saying he plunged into depression after a colleague made an alleged ‘blackface’ gesture his way.
Paul Erhahiemen, 43, spent four years guarding the late Queen Elizabeth II as a soldier of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment before switching to the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps in 2013.
In 2020, he was posted to RAF Brize Norton as a newly qualified forces mental health nurse, but ended up leaving last year.
He blamed what he calls a ‘culture of fear,’ ‘bullying’ and ‘racist comments’ for an emotional collapse which left him with depression, paranoia and suicidal thoughts.
He is now suing the MoD for £1.2million in compensation over incidents which he says included a colleague using ‘a hand gesture that meant black or painted face or skin’.
Mr Erhahiemen said this was used to other staff members instead of mentioning him by name.
The MoD is defending the case, saying he must prove any racist incidents occurred and insisting it took all reasonable steps to protect his mental health.
According to documents filed with London’s High Court, Mr Erhahiemen, who is black with Nigerian heritage, joined the army in June 2009 as a member of the Household Cavalry.
He later transferred to the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps in 2013.
In September 2020, he was posted to RAF Brize Norton, but claims that he experienced bullying and racism from colleagues which led to his ‘premature voluntary release’ in November 2021.
He was then reinstated in 2023 before being medically discharged in May last year due to mental health issues.
His barrister Tara-Lynn Poole says he suffered depression having ‘experienced a culture of fear’ at the RAF base, ‘where discrimination, bullying, harassment, inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour was normalised’.
She told how ‘racist comments were made about the claimant’, causing him to feel humiliated, degraded, isolated and ostracised, and intimidated on account of his skin colour and/or race’.
Those included a colleague having ‘used a hand gesture that meant “black or painted face or skin” when referring to the claimant to other staff members instead of using his name’, she said.
Ms Poole said Mr Erhahiemen was ‘subjected to daily micro-aggressions’ and that between September 2020 and April the following year he ‘felt bullied and harassed, and discriminated against on account of his race and/or because he challenged unwanted behaviour’.
‘Before the bullying and harassment, he was an avid polo player and flew planes’, she told the court.
‘He stopped these activities and no longer receives any pleasure from them. He has a continuous low mood. He is now isolated and withdrawn and is reluctant to socialise.
‘The claimant had suicidal thoughts, became paranoid of people’s intentions, lost confidence and experienced low self-esteem. He was constantly anxious, very angry and tearful.
‘The claimant, by reason of his injuries, was required to give up a career in the Armed Forces which he enjoyed, and which gave him satisfaction and status.’
Dominic Ruck Keene, for the MoD, said the allegations regarding the ‘racist’ gesture were ‘not admitted and the claimant is put to strict proof thereof’.
He said the MoD admitted that if Mr Erhahiemen’s former colleague was found to have ‘committed acts motivated solely by the claimant’s ethnic background’ it would constitute harassment for which the MoD would be liable.
But he added: ‘It is denied that prior to January 2021 there was any requirement to assess the risk of the claimant suffering harm from bullying, harassment, discrimination or victimisation and/or his mental health declining.
‘Any such risk was appropriately assessed and managed thereafter.
‘The defendant avers that prior to September 2020 the claimant had a prior history of mental illness.
‘All matters as to causation, injury or loss, including the claimant’s putative military career, are in dispute, save as consistent with the contemporaneous medical records.
‘The claimant is put to strict proof that he has stopped playing polo.’
The case reached court last month for a costs hearing in front of Deputy Master Skinner, who heard that Mr Erhahiemen, now living in New Zealand, is bringing a £1.2million-plus claim.
The judge directed that there be a 10-day trial at a future date, describing it as a ‘complex’ case.
