The sacked officer was sacked six months after his Bin Laden remark

Colin Rose, a 53-year-old former Coldstream Guardsman, was sacked from Blundeston Prison, near Lowestoft, after making the remark two months after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Mr Rose, who is claiming unfair dismissal after a 21-year unblemished record in the Prison Service, was sacked in May 2002 after a six-month internal investigation.

The tribunal in Norwich heard that as Mr Rose threw a bunch of keys down a metal chute at the prison gatehouse, he jokingly claimed Bin Laden's picture was at the bottom of it.

Asian visitors

The prison officer was told to be quiet after three Asian visitors to the prison were spotted standing nearby, the Norwich hearing was told.

But Mr Rose insisted that no complaint had been made to him by those visitors and claimed the "intimidating" attitude of his superiors had shocked him.

The tribunal heard that the investigation did not establish whether or not the visitors had overhead the remark.

The prison's assistant governor, Andrew Rogers, told the hearing that he was not certain Mr Rose had seen the Asian visitors, but said the remark had offended him.

What I was saying was that I was throwing keys at a photograph of someone I did not like Colin Rose

At the hearing on Wednesday Mr Rose said that he had flicked the keys down the chute "as quickly as possible".

When someone commented that it sounded like the keys were going through the metal he said there was a photograph of the al-Qaeda leader there.

"I was flicking the keys against an imaginary picture of Osama Bin Laden at the bottom of the chute."

Mr Rose said that following the 11 September attacks, Bin Laden was seen as a national enemy and there had been a lot of comment about him in the prison.

Barrack-room humour

"What I was saying was that I was throwing keys at a photograph of someone I did not like," he said.

Mr Rose insisted he was not in a position to see the three Asian visitors when he made the comment and insisted they had not complained.

Describing being questioned by his superiors over the incident, Mr Rose said he had realised his barrack-room humour had been inappropriate and had immediately apologised.

The hearing continues.