A former paratrooper has told a tribunal of his "shock" at the racial abuse he and another black colleague endured while in the Army which allegedly included soldiers who decorated their barracks with Nazi flags and pictures of Adolf Hitler.

Hani Gue, who describes himself as a black African of Ugandan nationality, joined the Army in October 2012 and was later assigned to the 3rd Battalion (3 Para) A Company.

He formally asked to leave in January 2018.

In his statement to a central London employment hearing Mr Gue said: "During the course of my employment I noticed that there were Nazi Confederate and SS flags and photographs of Hitler displayed in A Company's accommodation which is a stone's throw away from the Battalion headquarters."

He said he had to walk past this "on a regular basis" and then in October 2017 he spotted that members of 3 Para had posted a picture of themselves with Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League.

Mr Gue added: "It was clear to me at that point that racism was prevalent in 3 Para and A Company in particular.

"Things only got worse from there."

Mr Hue told the tribunal that this situation was "not a single incident but it happened several times".

Both Mr Gue and South African Lance Corporal Nkulueko Zulu have taken the Ministry of Defence to a tribunal alleging they suffered racial discrimination and harassment and the Army did not take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Mr Gue also noted that colleagues would often use a range of racial slurs such as "c***", "p***" and the "the non-swimmers".

He added in his statement: "This was all passed off as banter although I found it very intimidating and offensive as a non-white person."

He was deployed with 3 Para to Kenya in November 2017 only to be told during a welcome that the troops should not behave badly or they would "go to prison and get Aids", it was alleged.

He also claims that during one of the exercises with the Kenyan troops, one colleague said "look at these idiots running, f****** n*****s don't have a clue".

The officer apologised after Mr Zulu confronted him about his language.

Then both Mr Gue and Mr Zulu heard a different corporal describe Kenya as a "shithole".

He stated he had wanted to join the Parachute Regiment in particular after being "inspired by the regiment's history of fighting the racist Nazi regime during World War II".

But Mr Gue added: "Unfortunately, my experiences of racial harassment and discrimination during the course of my employment have led me to realise that the Army is not the honourable institution I once thought it to be."

Mr Gue claims that his experiences in A Company had "an extreme psychological impact" and even led to him changing his Muslim surname of Hassan for fear that it could make him more likely to face racism.

Mr Gue also alleges there were regular instances in which people would trash the corridor where he was staying, along with a fellow private who was a white South African.

Mr Gue claims that the doors were urinated on, had beer bottles smashed in them and were also daubed with racial slurs in marker pen.

He recalls having to remove them next morning.

By Helen William