An accountant was racially discriminated against and unfairly dismissed by an Oxford University college, an employment tribunal has ruled.

A tribunal panel in Reading made the ruling against Keble College and criticised it for doing "very little" to implement equal opportunities among staff, adding that it took "a most unfavourable view" of the college.

College bursar Roger Boden dismissed accountant Diamond Versi, because he was Asian, the tribunal ruled.

Mr Versi, 57, from Witney, has made a claim for £250,000 compensation, but Keble College is considering appealing against the decision.

The tribunal ruled that Mr Boden started a groundless fraud inquiry against Mr Versi and the panel criticised the way Mr Boden was able to railroad the college's finance committee.

Mr Versi worked for the college from 1989 until he was made redundant last April. The tribunal heard that he lost his £47,000-a-year job when Mr Boden combined Mr Versi's post with that of his deputy, Julie Hernandez -- who got the job. Mr Versi told the tribunal that Mr Boden pursued "a personal vendetta" against him -- even after a fraud inquiry in January 2003 cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The tribunal panel, in its written decision, concluded: "The fraud investigation was an extremely serious matter with no factual background to justify it."

Mr Versi also said that Mr Boden tried to stop an Asian waitress joining the accounts department and stopped Pakistani cleaner Naheed Chaudhry from getting a £4,000 loan.

The ruling stated: "It was clear that whilst the college was able to brandish a bit of paperwork showing it had a policy, in practice very little was done regarding the implementation of equal opportunities."

Speaking from his home yesterday, Mr Versi called the employment situation at Oxford's colleges "institutionally racist".

In a statement, Keble College said it believed it had acted "fairly and lawfully" towards Mr Versi.