Shearwood is taking the footwear retailer to an employment tribunal, due to begin in Bristol this morning, amid claims that he was ousted because he tried to blow the whistle on questionable accounting practices and corporate governance.

Shearwood was forced to resign from the role last year after being accused of behaviour that breached Clarks’ code of ethics.

According to The Sunday Times, Clarks has accused Shearwood of a number of misdemeanours, including referring to people of colour as “violent”, calling an Asian woman a “thing”, describing a representative from one of Clarks’ wholesale customers as a “f*****g faggot” and asking a female member of staff intrusive questions about her sexuality.