Lesbian PC follows her partner's lead and sues the force too

A gay policewoman is suing her force for sexual discrimination - ten years after her partner launched a similar action against a neighbouring force.

Heather Nesbitt, 34, is taking the City of London Police to an employment tribunal because she has been denied the right to work part time.

Just over a decade ago she and her then partner Angela Lowrey-Nesbitt, 40, both worked for the Metropolitan Police.

The couple had a baby by artificial insemination and both had periods of sick leave because of stress.

Both quit claiming they had been victimised because of their relationship and Ms Lowrey-Nesbitt took the Met to a tribunal over claims of discrimination.

But Ms Nesbitt signed up again as a police officer more than two years ago, this time with the City of London force.

She claims that she was victimised over her sexuality when she worked at Bishopsgate police station as a police constable. Insiders say she has spent several months on sick leave.

It is understood the City force is strongly contesting her claims at the tribunal, which began yesterday.

Ms Lowrey-Nesbitt, took her claim of sexual discrimination to an industrial tribunal in 1996 but it was thrown out.

She later successfully sued the Met for loss of earnings under Equal Opportunities legislation. It has never been disclosed how much she was awarded.

The couple met at police training school and later had the baby, a daughter, Aimee, through a gay sperm donor, believed to be another constable.

Both took stress-related sick leave before finally retiring on the grounds of ill health. Ms Nesbitt was a probationer for a record five years at Edmonton and Chingford police stations in London before resigning because of what she claimed was the pressure she faced over her private life.

She claimed at the time that she was barred from taking time off work to help care for the baby. "I was sent to Coventry," she said.

"There's so much intolerance - it made me really ill. I even thought about killing myself. I had five years of it and was off for a year with stress. I lost a career I loved."

She claims she was the victim of constructive dismissal and considered legal action but did not follow through with it.

After the couple left the force they gave an interview to a Sunday newspaper describing the circumstances of their baby's conception.

Ms Lowrey-Nesbitt was 27 when she took maternity leave in 1993 to have the baby.

The couple were both members of the London Lesbian Parenting Group at the time. It is not known if they are still together. They have refused to name the father of their child.