A Catholic police officer was denied promotion to sergeant because officers on the appointments board were corrupt, an industrial tribunal heard today.
Constable Kevin Curley (41) alleged that he was not promoted in September 1997 because of his religion.
He claimed the system for reviewing applications was fundamentally flawed and needed to be changed. The application in question was his ninth unsuccessful attempt.
"Due to the corrupt individuals who marked these (eligibility) exercises, the whole process caused significant harm to a number of individuals including myself," he said.
Mr Curley claimed his high standard of education to A-level was not given the credit afforded to similarly qualified candidates.
He was based in Antrim Police Station and had 12 years' experience in the RUC, with 15 months acting up as sergeant. He claimed the reason given to him for turning down his candidature was because of shortcomings highlighted in his application form.
"Time after time I see people getting promoted who are not suitable, the system obviously doesn't work," he added.
"It relies solely on what you write in your application form, it doesn't take into account how professional you are on the ground."
Mr Curley added people with almost three years' experience were being promoted at his expense, some with lower points scores in the eligibility questionnaire. Two of the three officers who sat on the promotion board have since retired, while the third has died.
During a later evaluation with Mr Lamont, the aggrieved applicant said he had been told that he had a "chip on his shoulder." He added that Mr Lamont had told him the senior officers were not bigoted against Catholics or any race.
Mr Lamont is due to give his evidence later. The case is due to run for several days.
PA