A MAN claiming unfair dismissal from Oxford-based logistics firm Unipart wanted a settlement worth “several times his annual salary” to keep quiet about evidence he claimed he had of fraud, a tribunal heard.

Darren Oakley, 41, from Solihull, West Midlands is claiming unfair dismissal and breach of contract following his departure from Unipart after he made allegations that he had evidence of systematic false accounting.

Giving evidence to the employment tribunal in Birmingham yesterday, Angela Dickson, a human resources consultant at Unipart, said she had numerous meetings with Mr Oakley, during which he made veiled threats to expose information to customers unless he got a settlement.

She said: “I do not believe he had evidence of false accounting. When I met him to discuss the allegations he refused to show me the evidence several times... he told me there was an easy way and a hard way to do this and we had chosen the hard way.”

Mr Oakley, who is representing himself at the tribunal, claimed he had never asked for any kind of financial settlement. “I believe the whole investigation process was a complete sham,” he said. “I never said I wanted a financial settlement and I never said I wanted to leave the company.”

The hearing continues.