Boss bullied by ‘psycho’ junior sues for £800,000

A SENIOR City lawyer yesterday claimed she had been harassed from her £150,000-a-year job by a 'psycho' female junior colleague.

Caroline Cowper is suing her former employers for £800,000 after saying her life was turned into a nightmare.

The 53-year-old claims Pearl Lestrade-Brown - who came under Miss Cowper's management - was allowed to repeatedly bully her, falsely accuse her of having an inappropriate relationship with a male colleague and brand her 'completely mental'.

She says her bosses at insurance giant Zurich wrongly chose to back a grievance appeal against her by Miss Lestrade-Brown, and then ignored repeated pleas that her colleague's behaviour was causing her stress.

Miss Cowper claims the firm's failure to support her led to a mental breakdown. When she took sick leave from her job as head of legal, she was dismissed.

Yesterday the High Court heard the dispute between the two lawyers boiled over during a mediation attempt when Miss Lestrade-Brown launched an unjustified and unsubstantiated 'diatribe' against Miss Cowper.

'She proceeded to come up with a series of allegations about me, all of which were completely untrue, and completely unsupported by any evidence,' said Miss Cowper.

Peter Edwards, Miss Cowper's barrister, said she was dismissed on medical grounds in October 2008. He said Miss Cowper 'repeatedly informed the company that Miss Lestrade-Brown's behaviour was causing her stress, and that this was making her ill.' Mr Edwards added that several colleagues in the company were aware of Miss Lestrade-Brown's volatile reputation - with one branding her a 'psycho'.

Zurich UK Services Ltd denies all liability. The hearing continues.