Swearing at work? That's just a normal day up north, says judge

As every southerner knows, people from the north of England will not eat chips without gravy, talk to every stranger they meet and often sport a flat cap when walking their whippet. But do they also swear more?

- Mark Brown

In an employment tribunal judgment that raises questions about regional stereotypes, a judge has suggested that swearing in the workplace is particularly common in the north.

Judge Shergill made the comment in a ruling that supported a driver who had been sacked for verbally abusing a colleague and then made a claim of unfair dismissal. The man described a female colleague as a "fucking mong" during an office discussion about weight loss. "Mong" is an offensive term for a person with Down's syndrome.