An accountant at Historic England fabricated claims of stalking against her colleagues after being asked to attend a meeting in person, a Bristol Employment Tribunal has found. Tanya Langston, who worked for the government’s heritage watchdog, was reported to have made false allegations in an effort to discredit co-workers amid ongoing workplace issues.

Ms. Langston, employed at Historic England’s Swindon office since 2018 and promoted to assistant systems accountant in 2021, faced growing concerns over her work performance by late 2022. Despite additional support, she repeatedly made errors, including sending duplicate welcome letters to clients and entering incorrect email addresses. These issues, coupled with her resistance to management interventions, prompted Historic England to initiate performance management proceedings in March 2023.

In May 2023, Ms. Langston sent several messages via Microsoft Teams to Matthew Ulyatt, the finance and procurement director, which later disappeared, leading Mr. Ulyatt to question their sudden deletion. Ms. Langston explained the messages were sent out of boredom due to insufficient work assignments. Subsequently, she raised a formal grievance alleging that the informal weekly performance reviews constituted harassment. In her complaint, she asserted that her employment might be part of a broader harassment or stalking campaign and said she had contacted police for advice.

The tribunal heard that Ms. Langston claimed her colleagues were attempting to exert control over her and alleged that her manager was stalking her through Skype and a dating application. However, the judge found these allegations to be deliberately fabricated. Employment Judge Andrew Midgley concluded that the claims were part of a “deliberate, contrived and calculated plan to tarnish” her colleagues and distract from the misconduct allegations against her. He noted the objective appeared to be causing “as much distress as possible” to her co-workers.

Ms. Langston was dismissed by Historic England in February 2024 and subsequently brought legal action alleging discrimination and unfair dismissal. The employment tribunal dismissed her claims, accepting the evidence that her stalking accusations lacked foundation.

The case highlights challenges faced by employers in addressing workplace performance issues while managing allegations of harassment. Historic England, responsible for protecting the historic environment in England, has not commented publicly on the tribunal ruling.