Sting ordered to pay £25K to former chef

Rock star Sting and his wife Trudie Styler have been ordered to pay their former chef nearly £25,000 in compensation, after she won a sexual discrimination case.

Jane Martin, 41, worked at the musician's estate for eight years, but claimed that she was sacked by Miss Styler because she became pregnant. She told a Southampton employment tribunal that the couple had behaved "cruelly", and said that she had been afraid of losing her baby due to the pressure that was put on her.

The tribunal panel awarded Ms Martin £24,944 in compensation, and said that the couple's behaviour was "shameful".

However, Sting and Ms Styler have already won the right to appeal against the ruling and the compensation amount.

A statement released on behalf of the pair said: "Given the fact of that pending appeal, it is our belief and that of our legal team that the remedies hearing should never have taken place. Hence its findings are entirely academic.

"It remains Trudie's position that she, as a woman and a mother, has never in her life sexually discriminated against anyone and never would do so."