In response to the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) to uphold Mr Rajendra Chaudhary's appeal, the Secretary of the BMA, Mr Jeremy Strachan, made the following statement:

"We are very disappointed with the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal to uphold Mr Chaudhary's appeal. A preliminary review of the EAT judgment suggests there may be good grounds for a further appeal to the Court of Appeal. It remains our view, supported by leading counsel, that there was insufficient evidence before the original employment tribunal to justify a finding of discrimination and that the BMA has been subjected to an unfair stigma.
It is also worth pointing out that since the original Tribunal decision two and a half years ago, we have supported Mr Chaudhary against various NHS authorities on three racial discrimination appeals and an employment tribunal at a cost of over �150,000.

The BMA takes accusations of racial discrimination extremely seriously and has a good track record of representing members who consider they have been discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender, disability or sexual orientation.

The Association, in common with any large organisation, is concerned to ensure that its policies and practices do not unconsciously or accidentally discriminate against its members or its staff, and has taken appropriate steps to implement this policy.

Since 1 October 2003, BMA members with work-related discrimination claims have been referred to an external firm of solicitors � Irwin Mitchell. Their role is to determine whether the member's case meets the BMA merit criterion (namely a greater than 50 per cent chance of success) and if so, to provide legal representation before an Employment Tribunal. Last year for example Irwin Mitchell obtained substantial damages for four BMA members in race discrimination cases and a further award in February this year. An additional 22 racial discrimination claims are currently being handled by the firm."

Other recent BMA action includes:

• Equal opportunity training for BMA regional office staff

• " Dealing with Discrimination " � written guidelines for BMA members

• A thorough ongoing review of all BMA policies, procedures and services to ensure they are not directly or indirectly discriminatory

• An Equal Opportunities Committee � The EOC and the BMA Board of Medical Education are preparing a report on barriers to career progression . The committee also seeks to give a voice to often marginalised doctors through interviews with those who feel they have been victims of the system. A report on the findings is due to be published this summer.