A HR consultant who turned “whistleblower” to call out “vile homophobic abuse” at Europe’s largest nuclear site says she has been driven “close to the edge” by her ongoing legal battle.
Alison McDermott is a HR consultant who specialises in work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). She began working with Sellafield and its governing body the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in 2016, under an 18-month contract via outsourcing company Capita.
She told PinkNews that she had received “glowing feedback” from Sellafield, and in 2018 she and her own company were commissioned on a further 18-month contract to investigate the culture at the nuclear plant – the largest and one of the most dangerous in Europe, storing more than 140 tonnes of plutonium.
During her time at Sellafield, McDermott says she discovered extensive “homophobic abuse, racism and sexism”, and “was asked to investigate the HR function because there were real problems”.
“I produced a report that said that the HR function was in crisis, and that the HR personnel had very little confidence to no confidence in the leadership team,” McDermott said.
“I also raised issues of vile homophobic abuse, which hadn’t been addressed, and racism and sexism.”
The next day, McDermott says, she was told that her services were no longer required because of “financial constraints”.
Later, according to McDermott, Freedom of Information requests would show that at the same time Sellafield had “embarked upon...
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