X Factor's Faye Bray 'posed with a whip'

A former X Factor contestant was excluded from the Midland prison where she worked as a teacher after pictures of her posing with a whip were seen online, an employment tribunal heard.

The hearing, at which Faye Bray is claiming sexual discrimination, was told she previously faced disciplinary action for performing in an "inappropriate outfit" on the TV talent show in 2009.

The 30-year-old alleges she was unfairly dismissed by The Manchester College, which provided services to Brinsford Young Offenders Institution in Featherstone, near Wolverhampton.

Giving evidence on the third day of the tribunal, Brinsford's governor, Ste-phanie Roberts-Bibby, said she had decided to exclude Mrs Bray from the prison after "sexualised" images appeared on the singer's website late last year.

Mrs Roberts-Bibby told the Birmingham hearing that Mrs Bray had put herself in a position where she would be vulnerable and her post as a teacher was "no longer viable".

The governor said: "I didn't think it was appropriate for Mrs Bray to be displaying such material."

The governor said she believed the web pages constituted a risk to those taught by Mrs Bray, telling the tribunal: "I am very keen that we don't do anything to reinforce negative stereotypes they may carry, not just of women, but of any group."

Mrs Roberts-Bibby said she did not think mother-of- three Mrs Bray's revealing outfit on X Factor was a "positive image for a teacher".

She told of a photo on Mrs Bray's website of her wearing stockings, hot pants and a basque, saying the outfit had "sexual connotations". Mrs Bray was also said to have posed on the website with a whip

Mrs Bray, of Cannock, who revealed she aspires to be like Barbie, Pamela Anderson and Jordan, was dismissed in January.

The tribunal has heard claims of how she wore see-through trousers to work, leaving the young inmates "mesmerised", and signed emails "Barbie Shagwell".

The hearing continues.