"most would regard you as a first-class idiot.”
Labour’s Khalid Mahmood has been ordered to pay a senior advisor who was once his girlfriend more than £11,000 for unfair dismissal.
Mr Mahmood sacked long-term aide Elaina Cohen after she sent him a series of messages accusing him of being “cruel”, “bullying”, “spiteful” and an “insecure, crooked womaniser”.
He dismissed Ms Cohen, whom he had previously dated for several years, for disrespect and trying to intimidate him.
Ms Cohen began working for Mr Mahmood in 2003.
Shortly afterwards, they entered a “romantic relationship”, which ended in 2005 at the earliest.
After their breakup, Ms Cohen continued to work for Mr Mahmood but their relationship became increasingly “dysfunctional” with multiple WhatsApp messages and emails exchanged.
The tribunal heard: “[Ms Cohen] frequently fumed and ruminated in such communications, making bitter and provocative remarks directed at [Mr Mahmood], mixed in with information relating to the business of his office.
“[He] rarely replied.”
In 2019, Mr Mahmood gave a parliamentary pass to Saraya Hussain, a charity worker with whom Ms Cohen clashed.
In January 2020, Ms Cohen met a whistleblower who claimed Ms Hussain had been blackmailing, grooming and bullying vulnerable charity service users.
Ms Cohen subsequently reported the allegations to West Midlands Police and told Mr Mahmood that vulnerable individuals had been encouraged to shoplift, as well as making allegations of charity fraud.
However, the investigation came to nothing and Ms Cohen said Mr Mahmood “went ballistic and accused me of lying. He accused me of making more trouble for Saraya Hussain because I was jealous”.
Following this, Ms Cohen said she was excluded from parliamentary staff Zoom calls while Mr Mahmood’s communications with her dried up, leaving her feeling “marginalised and isolated”.
On August 23, 2020, an email from Ms Cohen to Mr Mahmood read:
“If I were to put all our messages over the years into the public domain, most would regard you as a first-class idiot.”
The tribunal heard their relationship deteriorated further, with Mr Mahmood accusing her of unprofessionalism and suggesting she go off sick from work.
On October 11, the pair spent the afternoon “duelling by emails”.
During the exchange, Khalid Mahmood copied Sir Keir Starmer into one email that referred to her “first-class idiot” comment.
The hearing was told that the following month, after the death of Mr Mahmood’s father-in-law, Ms Cohen sent him a “crass and insensitive” email, concluding with the remark:
“I am daily astounded at the shenanigans in the parliamentary office.”
Mr Mahmood then launched formal disciplinary action against Ms Cohen, making five allegations against her, including her emails, which led to him firing her in January 2021.
He told her: “You have repeatedly disrespected me, calling me names and copying in additional people to emails sent from you to me in order to intimidate me, make me feel discomforted, and to damage my reputation.
“I believe your actions have potentially brought me into disrepute and your actions have made me feel harassed and bullied.”
Ms Cohen took him to the tribunal and it was concluded that although her actions may have amounted to gross misconduct, the way her sacking was carried out was unfair.
Ms Cohen was originally awarded more than £50,000 in compensation for her treatment after successfully suing Khalid Mahmood.
However, that was reduced by 75% to £11,729 in compensation by the tribunal because of her “blameworthy” conduct.
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