A chef who apologised after he mentioned the old ‘golliwog’ label on Robertson’s jam in front of a black colleague was still guilty of harassment, top appeal judges ruled today.

Mark McAleese used the word when his back was turned to Denise Lindsay in a discussion about food labelling in the kitchens of the London School of Economics halls of residence, in Bloomsbury, where they both worked.

After 45-year-old Miss Lindsay complained, an employment tribunal described Mr McAleese’s use of the words ‘golliwog’ and ‘golliwog jam’ as ‘unwanted’ and ruled that what he said amounted to ‘an isolated act of harassment’.

That was despite the fact that Mr McAleese had swiftly apologised to his co-worker after the incident in January 2009 and said he had not intended to violate Miss Lindsay’s dignity or to ‘create an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment for her’.

Three Appeal Court judges today upheld the tribunal’s harassment finding, even though Mr McAleese had spoken with his back turned, in a quiet voice and his comments were not aimed at Miss Lindsay, of Clapham, south London.

Her legal team had argued that the use of the term was ‘inherently racist, whatever the context’.

And Lord Justice Floyd agreed that the word ‘gollywog’ was ‘obviously racist and offensive’ if used in the presence of a black person.

The most important issue in the case, he said, was ‘why did Mr McAleese say what he did? Was it because he knew he had used the word on the grounds of her race, but dressed it up as innocent chat? Or was it for some other reason?’

Mr McAleese had himself recognised that the term would be ‘down right offensive’ if aimed at a black person, and the judge said he had ‘not been truthful’ in repeatedly denying, including before the tribunal, that he had in fact uttered the word.

Lord Justice Floyd, sitting with Lords Justice Moore-Bick and Christopher Clarke, upheld the tribunal’s finding that the ‘the most likely explanation was that Mr McAleese had used the word because of Miss Lindsay’s race’.

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A black chef claims that her white boss racially harassed her when he mentioned the word ‘golliwog’ during a conversation about the famous Robertson’s jam labels.

Lawyers for Denise Lindsay, 45, claim that the word is ‘inherently discriminatory’ and has ‘racial overtones’ and should not have been used in front of their client.

But her boss Mark McAleese claims that he was talking about the jam label changing and has apologised to her and said that he had no desire to ‘violate her dignity’.

Her lawyers are battling to convince three top judges that the word is inherently offensive to black people and almost always discriminatory – no matter in what context it is used.

Her barrister, Daniel Matovu, told the court: ‘White people don’t get called golliwogs. The word is an overtly racial comment. [The word] golliwog cannot be interpreted in any other way.

‘What the authorities make clear is that, when something is inherently discriminatory and clearly has racial overtones, there is no further debate.’

British jam manufacturers Robertson’s started using the Golly character, dressed in a yellow waistcoat and bow tie, on its jars from 1910.

In the late-1920s, the company started producing popular badges featuring the character, including a golfing, cricketer and footballer version. The items became collectables.

However, the cartoon disappeared from labels in 2002 after decades of controversy and jars of marmalade now feature Paddington Bear.

The company has always insisted that the Golly character was withdrawn for commercial reasons rather than a reaction to the controversy surrounding the figure

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