A reception supervisor at an upmarket boutique hotel was subjected to repeated racism and told "she wasn't dark enough to be offended", a court was told.

An industrial tribunal has found Georgia Sylvester suffered "direct race discrimination" and "harassment related to race" while she worked at the £280 a night Harper Hotel at Langham, near Holt.

Its managing director Sam Cutmore-Scott, who wed Prince Harry's former girlfriend Chelsy Davy two years ago, was accused of carrying out "a character assassination" on the employee.

Miss Sylvester, who was described as of "mixed heritage" in tribunal papers, began working at the hotel in June 2021.

The Harper Hotel at Langham, near HoltThe Harper Hotel at Langham, near Holt (Image: Jessica Coppins) The tribunal, before employment judge Mark Graham, heard one manager at the hotel said he wanted "every  foreigner out of the country " in November of that year.

When she complained to a senior manager, Amy Willmott, about the comment, Miss Sylvester was told "she was not dark enough to be offended".

In July 2022, hotel manager John Holmes, who was listed as a co-respondent along with the hotel's owner Notley Grange Ltd in tribunal papers, told her "all blacks" were drug users, referring to a group of guests on another occasion as "the blacks".

Mr Holmes accused Miss Sylvester of being a drug user during a discussion, after drugs were found to have been taken by hotel guests, telling her: "Your kind you all do it, you blacks."

In March 2023, he used a racially offensive phrase, the tribunal heard.

Miss Sylvester said when she complained to a manager, Caroline Wilson, she was told she must have had a “very sheltered life”.

In his judgement, Judge Graham said: "The claimant gave evidence that she found this response to be very patronising and suggestive that she needed to put up with racist abuse."

Sam Cutmore-Scott at the Harper HotelSam Cutmore-Scott at the Harper Hotel (Image: Jessica Coppins) Miss Sylvester said there was "institutional racism" at the Harper.

The three-strong tribunal panel found that she "established a prima facie case of direct discrimination" over not being promoted to reception manager, after the previous manager left.

Mr Cutmore-Scott's description of her performance was described as "character assassination".

He said she was "unstable" and suffered from "some sort of paranoid delusion disorder".

Miss Sylvester left the Harper Hotel on April 24, 2023. The tribunal, which sat over seven days, found she had been constructively dismissed.

A compensation hearing will take place at a later date.