City of London Corporation’s former head of diversity sues for race discrimination

Saido Bello tried to get a racism complaint, made by a casual worker at the Barbican, addressed by the City of London Corporation which manages the building. Photograph: pxl.store/Alamy

A black lawyer who was employed as the City of London Corporation’s first director of equality, diversity and inclusion has brought a claim against the organisation for race discrimination after she was dismissed 10 months into the role.

Saida Bello told a tribunal hearing on Wednesday that “there is institutional racism entrenched deeply in the City of London Corporation” and claimed that almost 200 other employees of colour had also made complaints.