A FORMER Sellafield worker who claims she was sacked to silence bullying allegations at the nuclear plant is mounting a legal battle against the company.

Diversity and inclusion consultant Alison McDermott is crowdfunding to pay for legal fees after she lodged a whistleblowing and victimisation case to the Employment Tribunal. Her appeal on Crowd Justice has already raised more than £6,000.

She has launched the crowdfunding page to explain her case and fund her legal fight.

“Sellafield abruptly terminated my contract after I raised serious concerns about the abuse of employees working there and leaders’ failure to investigate or take action,” she says on her crowdfunding website entry.

Earlier this year, The Mail revealed bullying claims at the nuclear site had forced bosses to launch a campaign to clamp down on the malpractice.

Sellafield Ltd had commissioned an equality, diversity, and inclusion survey in autumn 2017 which revealed a quarter of its workforce believes bullying is tolerated at the site.

The data was circulated to employees via the firm’s intranet. But despite receiving the results in the first quarter of 2018, it wasn’t until earlier this year that a campaign was launched to put a lid on the misconduct.

Ms McDermott said: “The potential dangers on the Sellafield nuclear site are obvious; an estimated 40 per cent of the world’s plutonium is stored there and a major incident would contaminate large parts of Northern Europe. It is of particular importance that a safe and secure environment is maintained. As I discovered while working there, Sellafield is characterised by a deep-rooted toxic working culture with numerous reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination. The CEO admitted to being ashamed and embarrassed by these findings yet the current state of Sellafield is the direct result of the decisions made by those in charge.

“In addition to the survey data, employees shared vivid stories of harassment, discrimination and bullying with me. I believe that Sellafield’s retaliation sends a powerful and frightening message to its employees."

A Sellafield Ltd spokesman said: “We won’t shy away from being honest about our business – even when it’s difficult – because that’s the only way we’ll achieve the cultural change we want.”