Former HSBC banker appeals

According to wire service reports, Peter Lewis, a former banker at HSBC, is to be allowed to appeal his 2004 sacking on the grounds of sexual discrimination. Lewis's case is the first high-profile claim under new sexual orientation discrimination laws that came into force in Britain in 2003 to protect homosexuals in the workplace.

Lewis, former head of HSBC's global equity trading business, was sacked for gross personal misconduct in December 2004 after allegedly masturbating in front of a male colleague at the bank's gym – an allegation that Lewis denies. Lewis lost his £5 million lawsuit against the bank in May this year, when an employment tribunal rejected his claim of unfair dismissal on grounds of sexual orientation.

However, the tribunal had upheld four out of 16 claims that Lewis made against HSBC, saying that while the bank did not dismiss him on the grounds of his sexual orientation, it did not handle the original investigation of the case properly. HSBC has also been granted leave to appeal against these four claims.