Whistleblower aims to punish Met with £2m damages claim

A Met whistleblower will seek a record £2 million in compensation from the force tomorrow.

Detective Sergeant Howard Shaw was forced out of his job in the Met's e-crime unit after reporting alleged misconduct by two fellow officers, the London Central Employment Tribunal heard

The tribunal concluded that he had faced "unwarranted disciplinary proceedings" and suffered embarrassment and damage to his career and reputation as a result.

The level of damages, due to be set tomorrow, is unlikely to be more than £50,000. However, Mr Shaw's lawyer, Lawrence Davies, of law firm Equal Justice, said he would seek punitive damages totalling £2 million to deter the Met from treating future whistleblowers in the same way.

Mr Shaw, 47, said any sum awarded above £50,000 would be donated to the charity Homes for Heroes, but added: "I do want the punishment for the Met to deter them from crucifying another whistleblower."

A Met spokesman said that whistleblowers were able to speak out and had an anonymous phone and online reporting system to allow allegations to be made in confidence.