A HUNTERSTON police officer has won a religious harassment tribunal after a sectarian message was written on his work coffee mug.

Police Sergeant Paul McCue had also been 'harassed' by colleagues writing comments about protestant paramilitary group the Ulster Defence Association, an employment tribunal heard.

He then found a slogan referencing the pope graffitied on the underside of his Celtic Football Club cup.

The hearing was told there was a history of 'religious tensions' within the Civil Nuclear Constabulary unit where the firearms officer worked.

The tribunal decided Sergeant McCue was 'clearly under significant stress' following the 'harassment'. He will be compensated by the force, which protects the UK's nuclear sites, over the mug incident.

It was revealed that the sergeant had experienced previous problems including a note he found in his pigeon hole referencing the UDA - a protestant organisation involved in armed force during the Northern Ireland troubles.

A similar note was discovered by his wife inside the sergeant's work jacket.

Sgt McCue reported the matter, and a 'critical incident' was declared by his bosses - with Police Scotland carrying out an investigation and examining the notes for fingerprints.

He spent two months on sick leave as his mental health was impacted but Police Scotland closed their investigation citing a lack of evidence.

By June 2021, having returned to work, Sgt McCue was targeted for a third time.

A tribunal report said: 'Sgt McCue found the letters 'FTP' having recently been written on the underside of his mug in the kitchen area having been away from the unit the previous week.

'He reported the incident to Police Scotland. The mug he used referred to Celtic Football Club.

''The ink had not fully dried which suggested it had been written relatively recently. The mug had been stored in the kitchen cupboard which was unlocked.

"The mug was not in its usual location in the cupboard and had been moved to his section's cupboard where it was located.

"Sgt McCue reported the incident to a fellow Sergeant who was nearby. He was upset and had to go home. He was unable to continue working that day and commenced a period of sick leave with work-related stress.

"Sgt McCue stated he would report it to Police Scotland as a hate crime."

He subsequently required therapy following the experience, and believed he was being targeted by one colleague in particular 'and his cronies' - the tribunal heard.

An internal health and safety investigation found evidence of workmates 'who have a dislike for him based around his religion and are using bigoted/sectarian phrases or acronyms to target him knowing it will cause him distress/mental health'.

It found 'there were clearly some personal animosities and occasional allegations and counter-allegations but no more'.

Group training sessions were carried out, with some suggesting the incidents were 'normal banter'.

At the tribunal, Employment Judge David Hoey ruled that Sgt McCue had been harassed on grounds of religion.

Judge Hoey stated: 'The tribunal considered that there had been religious tensions in place amongst certain colleagues.

"While the time between the second and third incident was significant, the tribunal considers that it was likely that the same person or persons were behind the incidents which amounted to a continuing act of religious harassment."

Civil Nuclear Police Authority, which oversees the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, will pay compensation to Sgt McCue at a later date.