A civil servant who claimed she was tied up and gagged by her colleagues has been allowed to pursue a last-minute whistleblowing claim at an employment tribunal.

DeeAnn Fitzpatrick is seeking a case for unfair dismissal against the Scottish Government and last week sought to amend her claim to include whistleblowing and discrimination allegations.

The tribunal has now rejected her bid to pursue sex, age, race, religion and disability discrimination claims, but allowed her to proceed with the assertion that she was dismissed because she made protected disclosures.

Ms Fitzpatrick claims she was bound to a chair because she blew the whistle on misogyny and abuse in a Marine Scotland office, but bosses found that she lied about the timing and nature of the incident, which was deemed “high jinks”.

A photograph of her taped to a chair went viral at the peak of the #metoo movement in 2018, prompting a national outcry and investigation by the government body.

The probe found the men involved had “no case to answer” and Ms Fitzpatrick was instead dismissed for gross misconduct.

The Canadian will now pursue her case in full at the employment tribunal next month in a bid to be reinstated by Marine Scotland.

In a written judgment on his decision, employment judge Alexander Kemp said it was “in the interests of justice” to refuse the discrimination claims.

He added that he has permitted the whistleblowing claim on a “restricted” basis, relating only to two emails – one containing information about an alleged assault in the workplace and another about the chair incident.

In her bid to pursue the additional claims, Ms Fitzpatrick told the tribunal that colleagues in Marine Scotland’s Scrabster office called her a “f***ing Canadian retard”, “wh**e” and “old troll”.

She said: “I begged to have a work environment that was safe, to be able to go to work and do the job I was being paid to do, and that environment was not provided by my employer. I was left to my own defence within an office that was feral, in an office that they knew was misogynistic and racist. And because I spoke out, I was dismissed and I am now in an employment tribunal.”

Solicitor Andrew Gibson told to the tribunal that Ms Fitzpatrick was dismissed for lying about elements of the chair incident.

He said: “What is in dispute is that the incident took place against the claimant’s will and that it was in any way, shape or form an assault. My client’s position is that it was done entirely with her consent.”

The lawyer added that a forensic expert found that the photograph was taken in 2009, not in 2010, which disputes Ms Fitzpatrick’s claim that it was done in response to her blowing the whistle.

Mr Gibson said: “That’s a significant falsehood which had significant consequences for two employees at Marine Scotland who were questioned by the police.”

He submitted that the additional claims should not be allowed as they were lodged late in proceedings and related to “very historic” incidents.