Nottingham Castle staff criticise handling of alleged racist abuse

The castle reopened in April after a £30m refit

Employees and former staff at Nottingham Castle have written an open letter criticising bosses' handling of an alleged incident of racist abuse.

The anonymous group of seven, under the name of "the Castle's staff of colour", said they wanted to express their "deep concern, exhaustion and fear".

They called for some of the members of the trust, which runs the site, to be removed and replaced.

The trust says it takes employees' grievances seriously.

It has appointed an independent reviewer to investigate the summer incident.

The open letter alleged a black curator, Panya Banjoko, and her family were racially abused and physically attacked in the grounds of the castle.

"The subsequent poor handling of the incident, the treatment of Ms Banjoko and the lack of any formal anti-racist statement, have led to an environment of fear, distrust and extremely low morale among staff of all backgrounds, but particularly those of colour," it said.

It said there were other incidents of racism in and around the grounds, and that several members of staff and volunteers had quit their roles in protest.

They have asked the trust to provide a formal and satisfactory response within seven days, and said they would file a serious incident report with the Charity Commission if that does not happen.

Last month the BBC reported the former CEO of the trust had made allegations of bullying and harassment during a tribunal hearing.

Former CEO Sara Blair-Manning lost an initial claim for interim relief but is pursuing an unfair dismissal claim

The trust denies her allegations and said it was "committed to defending [itself] vigorously".

In response to the open letter, a trust spokesperson added: "The board continues to work towards positive change in light of the incident mentioned.

"We take seriously the grievances raised by our employees and will take forward the allegations raised.

"The trust is open to visitors, board members, employees, and volunteers from all backgrounds and our expectation is for all to be treated with dignity and respect.

"We continue to be disappointed and concerned that anyone on our site would act in a way that relates to unlawful discrimination. This all forms part of our ongoing investigation."