Judge fails in legal action over promotion bid

Judge Kate Thomas currently sits at Walsall County Court

A judge who claimed she was unfairly passed over for promotion has been told she cannot pursue her case through the courts.

District Judge Kate Thomas, 52, who oversees hearings at Walsall County Court in the West Midlands, took the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to trial after missing out on becoming a circuit judge.

Her claim was considered at a preliminary hearing at the High Court.

But it ruled she did not have an arguable case.

Sitting in the High Court, Mr Justice Swift heard Judge Thomas had been involved in a "particularly unpleasant" row with a more senior judge and had made a "bullying" allegation.

Barrister Nicholas Bowen KC, who represented Judge Thomas, said she thought she had been "blackballed" and saw herself "stuck" in her current role for the "rest of her career".

"There is a long-standing concern that it is a club - an old boys' club," he said.

"Her concern is that because she has had the gumption and courage to stand up for herself that has somehow gone against her."

He added: "There is a real smell about this."

But lawyers representing the JAC disputed Judge Thomas's complaints and argued she should not get permission to pursue her claim.

They said: "The claimant considers she has been 'tainted' on account of having made a bullying complaint against a colleague. But that is mere speculation."

Mr Justice Swift concluded Judge Thomas did not have an arguable case.