Diplomat sues government for �1million after he was removed from Belize post over allegations he touched politician's wife's bottom

  • John Yapp was British High Commissioner in Belize until suspension in 2008
  • He was left 'shell-shocked' when told of the allegations against him
  • Foreign Office accused of failing to back Mr Yapp as he faced the claims

A former British High Commissioner who was ordered home after he was accused of touching the bottom of a politician's wife is suing the Government for �1million.

John Yapp said that despite being cleared by the Foreign Office of the 'scurrilous' claim, he found himself sidelined and 'ostracised' before he retired after a 40-year career.

He was suspended in June 2008 after being accused of behaving 'inappropriately towards women at official functions' in Belize. The women were reported to have been Kim Simplis, the common-law wife of prime minister Dean Barrow, or businesswoman Lauren Reardon Smith.

But Mrs Reardon Smith later dismissed claims she had been groped, and said that, far from making advances, Mr Yapp had been shocked by the forwardness of Belizean women.

Alan Payne, the barrister for the Foreign Office, told the High Court yesterday that Mr Yapp had been accused touching a woman's bottom during a party game at a social event.

But Jane McNeill, Mr Yapp's QC, said the claims were 'unfounded and scurrilous' and that Mr Yapp was 'shell-shocked' by the bizarre allegations, which were later wholly rejected by the Foreign Office's own disciplinary panel.

Mr Yapp, 61, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said the claims were 'completely ridiculous, nonsensical and untrue' and said that his superiors in London had 'prejudged' the issue before taking the drastic decision to pull him out of Belize after 37 years of service. He was never re-engaged at ambassadorial level.

Miss McNeill said: 'It is his case that he was presumed guilty before being given an opportunity to comment on the allegations against him - or before the Foreign Office had carried out even the most preliminary investigation to see whether such allegations were worthy of belief.'

She said the Foreign Office had failed to support Mr Yapp as he faced the baseless misconduct claims, despite him having been a 'loyal and dedicated' diplomat for almost four decades.

She said the department had shown a 'lack of humanity' - barring Mr Yapp from contacting friends and colleagues in Belize and delaying the return of his family's possessions to the UK. She said Mr Yapp was put through an internal disciplinary procedure which 'broke almost every rule in the fairness book' as well as 'resurrecting' stale bullying claims.

In August 2008, the department's disciplinary panel cleared Mr Yapp of inappropriate behaviour towards women but gave him a final written warning about his overbearing management style. Miss McNeill said: 'We say the pursuit of management style and bullying allegations appears to have been carried out to support the decision that had already been made to withdraw him from the post.'

Mr Yapp said the department's failure to support him triggered a major mental breakdown, leaving him haunted by lingering symptoms of depression.

In his final years at the Foreign Office, Mr Yapp said he was sidelined and felt a 'deep sense of loss' at his treatment and he retired in 2011. He said his superiors should have waited to hear his 'side of the story' before he was withdrawn on the strength of 'bizarre and outlandish' accusations.

Mr Payne said there was 'clear evidence' that some of Mr Yapp's staff had felt 'bullied' by him. Mr Yapp accepted that he was 'not Mr Perfect', but said: 'The honest truth is that I didn't bully them.'

The Foreign Office denies claims that it failed to support Mr Yapp, maintaining that the decision to suspend him was reasonable given the serious accusations. The case continues.

Daily Mail