Muslim chef sues ‘insensitive’ Met over pork sausages

Hasanali Khoja says the Met Police was unable to guarantee that he would not have to handle pork products when he moved to be senior catering manager at the force's offices in the Empress State Building, west London.

He alleges he was expected to make "999 breakfasts", which include sausages, bacon and black pudding and are so named because officers traditionally begin their shift after a full English breakfast.

Mr Khoja, 60, from Edgware, claims managers suggested he wore gloves to handle the meat.Speaking ahead of the full employment tribunal hearing in Watford, he said: "I was very upset and angry because it is not permissible in my religion.

"I was threatened that management would sack me if I did not follow instructions. But I never enrolled to cook pork. I refused to do it."

The chef, who joined the force in 2005, said he had been allowed to avoid pork at Hendon Police College but when he moved his new managers only offered an informal guarantee.

He said: "I had a letter from the human resources department saying that I would not be required to cook any pork.

"But this was not exactly what I wanted as a guarantee. The Met has shown no sensitivity towards my religion.

"My original contract did not include any kind of cooking. I was hired as a senior catering manager. I protested at the move and at having to cook pork."

Mr Khoja, who sits on a Foods Standards Agency advisory committee on Muslim issues, said the Met placed him on special unpaid leave for a year after he refused to work without the guarantee he wanted.

He says he was then given work in a different building, but his role was downgraded to that of a higher catering manager.

Mr Khoja was expected to outline his claim for race and religious discrimination and unauthorised deduction of wages at the tribunal today. A private case management discussion between both legal teams was held this morning.

Mr Khoja's lawyer, Khalid Sofi, previously said: "He has genuine and strong religious beliefs and expects that they will be accommodated. The Met is a very large organisation and could easily have met his demands."

The Met denies Mr Khoja's claims. The hearing, expected to last 10 days, continues.