Singh claims he was passed over for promotion and given second-rate laboratory equipment because of his race. He also accuses Wilmut of stealing his ideas. On the second day of an industrial tribunal in Edinburgh, lawyers for both sides argued about the admissibility of secret tape recordings made by Singh. In one meeting, Grahame Bulfield, the former director of the Institute, is alleged to have told him, "Ian Wilmut is the most famous person at the Institute, but you are its future."
The conversation was one of at least three recorded by Singh before he was dismissed from his 40,000 pounds per annum post in June 2004. In another meeting, Singh, who was born in India, claims he was told he could either "resign or be fired."
Lawrence Davies, appearing for Singh, said the institute objected to the material being used because the content was "quite damaging". It showed that Bulfield told the scientist he should not take exception to Wilmut's behaviour, which could be attributed to "high levels of testosterone".