A former BBC sports journalist from Hugglescote has claimed he was unfairly dismissed for whistleblowing.

Ian Stringer was employed by BBC Leicester as a sports journalist in 2008 after he appeared on the BBC's show The Apprentice.

BBC Leicester reports that an employment tribunal in Leicester heard Mr Stringer, who later became the station's Leicester City reporter, was suspended in 2021 and sacked the following year for what the BBC says was misconduct.

Mr Stringer has brought both an automatic unfair dismissal claim for whistleblowing and an ordinary unfair dismissal claim against the BBC.

On the first day of the hearing, the court was not told in public the nature of the claimed whistleblowing.

Giving evidence Mr Stringer confirmed a 17-page statement was his before he was cross-examined by Jesse Crozier, for the BBC.

The hearing was told how Mr Stringer had been given free use of a BMW 5 series and then an Audi A3 via a company called Total Moti.

Mr Crozier listed a number of social media posts in which Mr Stringer, who had tens of thousands of followers, had "promoted" the company.

Mr Stringer claimed he was "identifying" rather than promoting the firm and said he received free use of the cars from a late friend who was a director of the firm.

The tribunal also heard how, in 2021, Mr Stringer contacted Garmin about a charitable run he was planning. His email to the firm mentioned his social media following, the court heard.

The company offered him two watches.

"You were seeking to get free kit from Garmin," Mr Crozier said. " This was an attempt to solicit free kit.

"The quid pro quo was if you promote us we will give you free stuff, correct?"

Mr Stringer agreed he had sought charitable donations for the endeavour adding: "I accept it is an email asking for help."

The tribunal heard how, when Mr Stringer was investigated for his conduct, he appeared to admit he had breached "various BBC policies and with the benefit of hindsight" accepted a "lapse of judgement".

In evidence, Mr Stringer said the BBC had not supplied the "level of training" required. He added: "I don't believe what I did was gross misconduct."

He accused the BBC of having a "changeable" policy on social media use and claimed some senior managers had used swear words in their social media posts.

Mr Stringer was sacked after blowing the whistle in relation to an alleged flouting of Covid rules, a court heard.

On the second day of the hearing, Mr Stringer told how, in July 2021, the then station editor Kamlesh Purohit had "instructed" one of the team to come into work despite them being "pinged" by the Covid app - something the tribunal was told was "a breach of Covid rules".

Mr Stringer said: "I felt bullied because I made a protected disclosure."

Speaking about his relationship with Mr Purohit, Mr Stringer said: "We had a difficult and challenging relationship. Post disclosure, it got considerably worse and toxic - it was bullying."

He said the investigation into his social media use began at a similar time as he made the disclosure to Mr Purohit.

He said there was "every chance" the two matters were related, adding: "It is odd timing. My social media had not been a problem for so many years and then (the issue of his social media use) just happens a few days after my disclosure."

The court was told Mr Stringer had, during the disciplinary process, compared his actions with those of Gary Lineker

The court was told Mr Stringer had, during the disciplinary process, compared his actions with those of Gary Lineker, Andrew Flintoff and Victoria Derbyshire, who, he said, had relationships with commercial entities outside the BBC.

Mr Stringer said the station's rugby reporter took on paid work to host events for the Leicester Tigers, while the then editor worked as a stand-up comedian in the city and performed at a location involved in a commercial partnership with the BBC.

"They are the standards that I followed - it could be Gary Lineker and Walkers Crisps or a reporter doing something for Leicester Tigers and getting money in the back of the pocket," Mr Stringer said.

Jesse Crozier, for the BBC, said the investigation into Mr Stringer's social media use and his protected disclosure were dealt with separately and looked into by people outside of BBC Leicester.

He said the initial concerns about Mr Stringer were not raised by Mr Purohit but by the then news editor.

Mr Crozier said Mr Lineker was, unlike Mr Stringer at the time, not a BBC employee and referred to a letter relating to Ms Derbyshire's appearance on ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, in which she had been given "very clear instruction" on her obligations and responsibilities to the BBC.