BBC star sues over '110hr work week and harassment from air traffic controllers'

19 November 2023 , 16:20

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Airport's Jeremy Spake is suing the Isle of Man government (Image: BBC)

Jeremy Spake, the star of the hit BBC series 'Airport', is suing the Isle of Man government for personal injuries.

He claims his mental health was damaged due to 'overwork' and 'harassment' from air traffic controllers during his time as deputy director of the Isle of Man Airport. Spake, 54, quit his role in March last year citing 'bullying, harassment and mobbing on an almost industrial scale'. He received substantial damages from the Department of Infrastructure (DoI), which runs the airport, at an industrial tribunal.

The former TV star alleged unfair, wrongful or constructive dismissal related to his whistleblowing over safety concerns at the airport. He also claimed to have been harassed by individuals in air traffic control. After reaching a compromise agreement, he received a payout. Now, it's come to light that Spake is also suing the Department of Infrastructure for personal injuries in a separate legal action launched in April. The details were revealed in the Isle of Man High Court.

Airport star Jeremy Spake is suing the Isle of Man government (BBC/Wonderhood Studios/Andrew Edgecumbe)

The man is asking for money because he says the department was careless and broke their contract. He says they didn't do enough to help him with his stress at the airport where he worked a lot of hours every week. But, Keira Gore, who is speaking for the DoI, said the new claim should be thrown out. She said it could have been included in the tribunal case and the department shouldn't have to deal with the same problem twice.

The court heard that the former airport deputy director made a tribunal claim for being fired unfairly or wrongly on May 31 2022. But Miss Gore said the employment tribunal case was settled by an agreement in January this year. She said a big amount of money was part of the settlement. She said the firing was mostly because the man kept talking about safety issues and other things.

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The court heard that Mr Spake had made a claim for personal injuries in April this year. Miss Gore said the facts of the new claim were almost the same as the tribunal claim. And she said it was made without any list of losses or expert medical evidence.

The DoI's advocate said there was a big risk of double recovery as the agreement covered injury to feelings and loss of earnings and pension contributions while the civil claim was for loss of earnings and pension.

Jeremy says his mental health was impacted due to being overworked (BBC)

The case should be dismissed for abuse of process, or alternatively, Mr Spake should provide a schedule of losses and expert medical within eight weeks, she argued. Chris Grimson, Mr Spake's advocate, claimed that the stresses of events during his client's three years at the airport had damaged his psychiatric health due to the DoI's negligence and breaches of statutory duty.

Grimson accepted there were similarities with both claims but insisted the personal injury claims were stand alone and not related to the detriment caused by Mr Spake's whistleblowing or the dismissal itself. He said the claimed personal injury damages arose from 'abject' institutional failures that led to 'extreme overwork, lack of support and failure to deal with harassment from a particular faction within the airport'.

Grimson told the court this alleged harassment had been directed to his client by a 'group of individuals in air traffic control'. He said the organisation's 'institutional and endemic failures' had led to his client regularly working 110 hours a week and having to 'shoulder alone' issues such as health and safety.

Mr Spake first found fame in 1996 when he starred in the BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary Airport set in Heathrow where he was working as ground services manager for Russian airline Aeroflot. He returned to Heathrow last year to present a mini-series looking at how the airport was resuming full operations after the Covid pandemic.

Since leaving Ronalsdway, he has started a consultancy business with his former boss Anne Reynolds, who stepped down as airport director in 2021 after 15 years of service. Deemster (judge) John Needham said he would need time to make a decision as it was a 'complex area of law'.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Man government stated: "The matter is being examined by the courts and it would be inappropriate to comment at this time." Elena Yegorova, Mr Spake's lawyer, commented: "For legal reasons, neither Jeremy nor any of his representatives are able to make any comment concerning this matter at this time."

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Izzy Hawksworth