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Peter Bennett condemned for racist, sexist language as QC upholds claim over firm’s misuse of public funds The head of human resources at Network Rail, who was condemned by an independent inquiry for a long running record of bullying and using sexist and racist language, has escaped disciplinary action and will retire on a generous, publicly-funded pension. Former staff who say they were pushed out of Network Rail by Peter Bennett are particularly angered by the internal email from the company’s chief executive, David Higgins, announcing Bennett’s departure, which praises his “professional approach”. The email said Bennett, who earns an estimated £350,000 a year in salary and benefits, would remain in his post before taking early retirement later this year. It was sent four days before Antony White QC, appointed by Network Rail to investigate allegations of impropriety within the company, expressed his amazement at Bennett’s behaviour and that there was no record of his ever being disciplined. White, from Matrix Chambers, wrote in his report: “I find it little short of astonishing that the director of human resources of a major national company described a senior female employee in his department who was complaining of sex discrimination as ‘a silly cow’ and a black female employee who had recently succeeded in a race discrimination case … as a ‘silly fucking black bitch.’” It was “equally astonishing”, White said, that Bennett wrote in a formal employment tribunal document that a sexually suggestive comment towards a junior female colleague “would not have been unwanted”. White’s 143-page report dismissed as unfounded a series of claims by the TSSA trade union that Network Rail’s former chief executive, Iain Coucher, and other senior staff abused their positions for financial gain. When White looked into separate allegations that the company, which received £3.7bn from the Department for Transport (DfT) last year, misused public funds by repeatedly paying off staff to avoid embarrassing industrial tribunals, he documented a wealth of damning evidence about Bennett’s style, none of which appears to be disputed by Network Rail. An outside consultants’ study in 2007 found Bennett’s methods to be “universally” disliked by staff, due to his abrasive style and “wholly inappropriate” language. White himself heard evidence about Bennett’s “bullying and blatant sexist language and conduct”, including the routine use of offensive comments and jokes and inappropriate physical advances to female colleagues. Bennett had no comment about the report or the allegations. Such claims have surfaced before, with Network Rail repeatedly saying Bennett had “no case to answer”. White discovered an internal investigation confirmed many of the allegations yet concluded they did not amount to serious misconduct. Network Rail said Bennett had been verbally warned about his behaviour, but White said he could find no record of this. He said: “I find it impossible to avoid the conclusion that Network Rail simply failed to take Mr Bennett’s admitted and established misconduct seriously.” The one specific claim about the abuse of public funds upheld by the QC relates to Victoria Lydford, a high-flying senior HR manager who took the company to an industrial tribunal after alleging Bennett unfairly sidelined her when she returned from maternity leave. The investigation uncovered legal advice to Network Rail urging it to settle Lydford’s claim before the hearing as she would almost certainly win her case and the publicity would cause “considerable collateral damage”. The eventual payout, protected by a confidentiality clause but reportedly close to £500,000, constituted a misuse of public money, the QC found. A former Network Rail staff member, who asked not to be named, said Bennett was known throughout the organisation as a “school bully” with extremely worrying attitudes to women: “He was a vulture. In our old headquarters, a lot of female staff would try very hard to get a position as far away as they could from where Peter sat. But it wasn’t just women. If you were a man and he found you wouldn’t stand up to him, Bennett would bully you mercilessly.” A Network Rail spokesman said the company had no comment to make beyond last week’s statement which welcomed White’s report and said the company was “profoundly different today in terms of both its leadership tone and standards of acceptable behaviour”. The company’s new senior management team has spoken previously of wanting to change a prevailing “militaristic” culture inside Network Rail. A DfT spokesman said the report “highlighted some serious issues”. He added: “We welcome the action Network Rail has taken to ensure there is no repeat of these failings, and we hope this report draws a line under the allegations.” Network Rail Travel & leisure Transport Discrimination at work Work & careers Equality Peter Walker guardian.co.uk