Selective Amnesia

One story which caught my eye recently was the tale of a young woman - Rachida Sobhi - who is apparently suing the police for refusing to appoint her as a WPC (Woman Police Constable).

The reason that the Met Police in London declined to give the young woman a job - is that she had a criminal record which she failed to declare.

But Rachida claims she has 'amnesia' which caused her to forget her previous conviction - even thiough she does not appear to suffer from memory loss in other areas of her life.

Now Rachida's criminal history is not that serious - she was arrested for stealing make-up while working in a department store.

Although I imagine the police viewed her failure to disclose the incident as a deliberate lie which would seem a reasonable interpretation to most people.

Yet Rachida has instigated legal action against the police after an Employment Tribunal ruled that her amnesia was a disability which allows her to pursue the Met Police on the grounds of disability discrimination.

Which sounds a bit far-fetched, if you ask me.

And that is presumably why the Met Police have said that they will be vigorously contesting her case - on the grounds that her amnesia (or otherwise) is completely irrelevant since Rachida  would not be allowed to become a constable with her criminal record - whether  suffering from amnesia or not.

So it all seems like a giant waste of money even if a senior judge - Mr Justice Keith - has now decided that Rachida is entitled to a new hearing as a result of her disabling condition.