A CONSERVATIVE Party member in Britain faces being struck off an employment appeals body because he told an Irish joke halfway through a race discrimination hearing.Ken Bamber, 77, told the tale about two "Paddies" in front of union boss Brian Kelly, whose parents come from Ireland.Kelly, who was representing a black employee at Medway Council in Kent, said he was deeply offended by the joke.He walked out of the hearing in December after Bamber, in the midst of the proceedings, started his joke with the question, "Did you hear the one about two Paddies in a bar?"Since the incident Bamber has stepped down from his role as the chairman of dismissal appeals hearings. Kelly is now taking him to a private employment tribunal in which he could be removed from his post. Bamber will also face a watchdog later this month to see whether he breached acceptable codes of conduct for government officials."I couldn't believe my ears - we were in the midst of a racial discrimination hearing," said Kelly. "If there's ever a more inappropriate time to start telling racist jokes that would have been it."This man was directly responsible for deciding whether the employee in question had a racial discrimination claim and he was telling racist jokes himself."I am proud of my Irish heritage and family and I felt deeply offended."Kelly, a father of four who spent his childhood in south west Ireland, claimed other councilors at the hearing tried to tell Bamber that his remarks were offensive but he didn't seem to understand.Kelly added, "I want this man to be held accountable for what he said. It should not be acceptable for anyone to behave in this manner."If a judge made these kind of remarks at a criminal trial - or any public hearing - there would be an outcry and he would be disbarred."Bamber told the Daily Mail this week that he is before an enquiry board on June 19 and he wasn't prepared to discuss the case or say anything that might prejudice the outcome of the hearing.He said, "I don't want to give anyone any ammunition against me."When telling his "joke" he said, "A man walks into a Dublin bar and sees a friend sitting with an empty glass. 'Paddy - can I buy you another?' he asks."Paddy looks up and says, 'Now what would I be wanting with another empty glass?'"