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A hospital boss was dragged into court for a telling off by a judge after swearing down the phone at one of their workers who was doing jury service.

The woman juror had been due to finish her two-week service at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday but the jury were still deciding on their verdicts and the trial was adjourned until today.

The woman asked permission from the judge to be able to go back to her job at the Royal Teaching Hospital over Easter.

But while awaiting his decision her line manager, hospital manager David Brown rang her and shouted at her down the phone.

Although the juror did not make any complaints about the way he spoke to her, another jury member said they could hear a raised voice and someone apparently saying “f**k”, so reported the call to the judge.

Judge Thomas Teague, QC, ordered Brown to attend court and explain himself.

He told him that the jury who reported him had been shocked as she “could hear your voice raised in anger and saying f**k.

“The juror was getting more and more uncomfortable and upset and told you she would call you back.”

Mr Brown rang her back five minutes later “demanding an answer”. By then the judge had said she could return to work for two days over Easter but Mr Brown “resumed badgering her, demanding to know she would be finished on Tuesday.”

A male member of the court staff took the phone from her to explain she would return to work when the jury had reached its verdicts but David Brown continued “in a loud aggressive way and spoke about her insisting her job was more important than a meagre shop worker”.

The member of staff was unhappy about the way he spoke to her and advised him to put it in writing, said Judge Teague.

Asked if the account was correct Mr Brown, line manager in the hospital’s operating department practitioners, said he had not said ‘f**k’ but had said ‘feck’.

He said: “I wasn’t irate with the lady, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise and I said could I speak to a member of staff and I said everything was all right.”

The judge, who said he could call the member of staff to give evidence on oath, asked if he accepted his behaviour had been inappropriate.

Mr Brown said that he would conduct the conversation differently if having it again. He said he had not been irate with the woman juror or member of staff “but the situation I found”.

Judge Teague pointed out that it had been a sensitive stage of the trial and to “intimidate, frighten and upset a juror” was very serious and should not happen.

“I am concerned about the juror and member of staff. I don’t know what view your employers take on people speaking to their subordinates and using the word ‘feck’ or ‘f**k’. Maybe they think is acceptable but it is not acceptable to have a juror spoken to in the way you now admit.”

He pointed out that intimidating a juror amounted to contempt of court but said he was taking no further action. “I assume your employers will take whatever disciplinary action necessary and I would be very surprised if they let something like this drop.”

Mr Brown, whose line manager was present in the public gallery, said: “My humble apologies”, before leaving court.

Contempt of court is an offence punishable by imprisonment.

A spokesperson for the Royal Liverpool Hospital said: "We take these matters very seriously and have begun an investigation."