Doctor 'told she was the wrong colour for Cumbria' Skilbeck, who has now retired, has been brought before the NMC charged with two counts of misconduct against Dr Saiger which was allegedly racially motivated. Haliax-born Dr Saiger had been parachuted into the North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in 2004 to raise standards as assistant director of nursing. She had excelled academically and harboured ambitions of going on to the top job, but was rebuffed by Skilbeck in the appraisal meeting on November 3, 2005, shortly after he joined the trust. Dr Saiger added: "I was just stunned, I have been a nurse since 1986 and I've faced many things in nursing. It's a difficult profession, but I never expected to hear that, not from someone who is supposed to be of an intellectually senior standing. A tearful Dr Saiger this morning told how she was studying for her PhD and raising her son Michael while working in an increasingly hostile environment. She said: "I was finding things out after the event, excluded from meetings. My PA Maria was absolutely loyal and would get me information because I wasn't kept informed. I didn't have an office, I was working out of the back of my car. Other nurses and senior managers who were appointed after me were given an office and a desk, and access to equipment. I was actually quite lonely. Eventually, Dr Saiger launched a grievance against the trust, including the comments made by Skilbeck. But a prolonged investigation delivered a "whitewash" which absolved senior managers of blame, she said. She said: "It was just a farce really. It completely and utterly absolved everyone and anything. They would find reasons, excuses, policies - everything I was saying was completely untrue. Skilbeck is also accused of violently grabbing Dr Saiger by the arm and dragging her along a corridor, on May 31, 2007. Dr Saiger reported the incident, which left her with a badly bruised arm, to the police, but no charges were brought. She was sacked from her £42,000-a-year post in 2008, but launched an employment tribunal case which ruled she had been a victim of a campaign of racially-motivated discrimination and harassment. The tribunal found she had been subjected to an "intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment." Skilbeck, who is now retired, is not attending the hearing in central London today, but emailed papers to the NMC to support his case. Dr Saiger told the hearing how Skilbeck grabbed her arm and dragged her along the corridor after a confrontation on May 31, 2007. She was in the middle of teaching a class of junior doctors, she said, but had promised to meet Skilbeck straight afterwards to give him access to the diary on her PC. But Skilbeck, described as 'red in the face', burst into the class before it had finished and demanded she leave immediately. She said: 'It was obvious that he was absolutely furious, he was shouting about disciplinary proceedings, suspending me, and how I did not come across when he told me he wanted access. 'I tried to discuss all of this, but he was getting madder and madder about my ability to do what I'm told, when would I ever learn, and he was going to make damn sure I was never in nursing again.' Dr Saiger said she tried to reason with Skilbeck that she could not abandon a class which had been difficult to organise. But the confrontation then turned violent. She said: 'He just grabbed me by the arm and physically dragged me about a foot along the corridor. He had such massive hands and I remember thinking that it hurt. I was completely shocked and yanked my arm away. I told him not to touch me again, and I was quite upset. Dr Saiger agreed to go to the offices with Skilbeck, but insisted a member of the human resources department sit in while they discussed the confrontation. But Dr Saiger said the subsequent HR report failed to mention her accusation Skilbeck had assaulted her. The NMC panel were this morning shown pictures of Dr Saiger's badly bruised arm a couple of days after the alleged incident. Although police were called, no charges were ever brought against Skilbeck. Skilbeck is now accused of violently grabbing Dr Saiger and of telling her she would never become a director of nursing in Cumbria because she is 'the wrong colour and wrong culture'. He is accused of misconduct which he is yet to admit or deny.