A Muslim chef who lost a claim of religious discrimination against Scotland Yard after complaining he was forced to cook sausages and bacon faces a legal bill of more than £75,000.
Hasanali Khoja, 62, accused the Metropolitan Police of failing to consider his Islamic beliefs when he was asked to handle pork products as a catering manager at a police station.
Muslims are banned from eating pork under Islamic law.
The £23,000-a-year chef claimed suggestions from his bosses that he should wear gloves and use tongs left him “stressed and humiliated”. But Khoja lost his claim in May after a police employee told an employment tribunal she had seen Khoja eating bacon rolls and sausages.
The Metropolitan Police Authority has now won a ruling ordering Khoja to pay its costs, which total at least £76,200, the Daily Mail reports.
In its costs claim, the Met said Khoja “knew that he had asked for a bacon roll two or three times for personal consumption before bringing his claim and throughout the conduct of his claim”.
“The fact that he had knowingly come into contact with pork products before bringing the claim shows that the claim had no reasonable prospect of success from the outset.”
Judge Michael Southam agreed and ruled Khoja should pay costs, which would be determined at a later date at a county court.
