Baltimore Technologies, the troubled internet security firm, is being sued by its former chief executive, Mr Fran Rooney, writes Jamie Smyth. The Irish firm said yesterday it would defend the action and believed it had a strong legal case.

A Baltimore spokeswoman said the case related to a "compromise agreement" which the firm and Mr Rooney signed when he left the company earlier this year. These types of "leaving" agreements are common in industry and often contain gagging orders preventing either party commenting about each other publicly.

Soon after his appointment, Baltimore's new chief executive, Mr Bijan Khezri, publicly criticised his predecessor's £450,000 (€571,380) salary. Mr Rooney was not available for comment last night. Baltimore, once a star performer on the prestigious FTSE 100, is in the midst of a restructuring which has cost hundreds of jobs.