A Stormont department's spending in a failed legal battle with a whistleblowing vet has reached around £277,000 with further costs still to be counted.
Dr Tamara Bronckaers was awarded a £1.25million payout in a high-profile employment case against the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (Daera).
An industrial tribunal last year found the senior vet, who had raised concerns about animal welfare and meat traceability, had been constructively dismissed from her job.
