THE Fire Brigade Union has accepted a legacy of a bullying culture which plagued the service for years, but said significant progress has now been made.

The comments came after the Echo reported Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) had offered cash settlements to seven firefighters for claims of racism, sexism and bullying in the early 2000s.

The settlements follow years of controversy relating to working conditions for staff at the service.

In 2015, Irene Lucas MBE was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the service which concluded it was “corrosive and toxic”.

She found there was “dangerous and pervasive bullying and intimidation” which could place employees and the communities they served “at risk”.

The union’s Essex secretary Alan Chinn-Shaw said: “I think the fire service has moved forward since the Lucas report which I do think was a bit flawed.

“It was predominantly concerned with historic behaviour at some fire stations and doesn’t reflect modern fire stations now.

“It did help address management bullying and there is still a legacy of that left but the fire service has changed.”

The Lucas report highlighted that “just about every “ism is present: sexism, racism, ageism” and identified failures from top to bottom within the organisation including a lack of management.

The Echo reported how one of the claimants alleged he suffered racist abuse on a daily basis during the early 2000s.

Mr Chinn-Shaw added: “I do think there has been racism and sexism in the fire service.

“It was predominantly white male firefighters but I do think society has changed and the fire service has changed with it.

“I think the settlements demonstrate a desire from senior management to help the fire service move forward and they would not want much publicity over this.”