Lord Sugar Apprentice 'Used Media As Weapon'

The Apprentice winner suing Lord Sugar for constructive dismissal has been described as a "headline grabber" and accused of deliberately trying to damage his reputation.

Stella English, 34, who won series six of the BBC show, claims she was treated as an "overpaid lackey" after being handed a £100,000 contract with the millionaire peer.

Her employment tribunal has now finished and a decision is expected within a month.

Lord Sugar's representative Seamus Sweeney said: "The claimant has, in the eyes of Lord Sugar, deliberately courted the media with a view of damaging his reputation."

He told the East London Tribunal Centre how Ms English had "sold her story" to the press and claimed she had deliberately sensationalised aspects of her evidence.

"She portrays him as always being angry in the meetings, and aggressive," Mr Sweeney said. "It's theatre."

He added: "She had been through 12 episodes of The Apprentice and knew what Lord Sugar was like."

Lord Sugar, who gave evidence to the hearing last week, admitted losing his cool when questioned about what he described as "derisory actions".

Philippa Jackson, representing Ms English, said Lord Sugar is "angry" at being sued, adding: "He's not going to be seen to be backing down."

However, Mr Sweeney said he could be "forgiven in these circumstances for reacting passionately ... because he feels wronged".

After winning the show, Ms English was given a job in Lord Sugar's IT business Viglen.

She resigned in May 2011 but claimed she was pressured into taking up a new position at YouView, the businessman's set-top box venture.

In September that year, Ms English was told that her contract was not being renewed.

Mr Sweeney denied Lord Sugar's offer of possible contractual work at YouView was "a PR construct".

"It wasn't a sham," he said. "It was a real job, with real money. It might not have been her dream job - that does not mean it was a sham."

However, Ms Jackson said that as Lord Sugar's apprentice, she had the right to expect "a degree of mentoring".

She added that for there to be a "relationship of trust and confidence" between an employer and employee, both sides must consider the job to be "a genuine occupation".