Supermodel Naomi Campbell has charged British Airways with hurling a racial slur at her. The accusation came immediately after a city court punished her for assaulting a British police officer at Heathrow airport.

She claimed that staff on a British Airways called her a "golliwog supermodel" during a verbal duel between the two over her missing suitcase amid chaos on the opening day of Heathrow's Terminal 5 in April.

British Airways was quick to deny the allegations, reports The Independent on Sunday.

Two things happened that April day. First, Campbell began arguing with the BA staff on a flight ready to take off for Los Angeles over her missing luggage. Then, when the police came to remove her from the scene, she kicked out at them.

The court which heard the case fined her 2,300 pounds for the assault and asked her to do 200 hours of community service.

Coming out of the court after the verdict, Campbell - with a track record for tantrums - said though she regretted kicking the policemen she was unrepentant about calling BA staff names.

"I was called a racial name on that flight and that was part of my reaction," she said about the kicking. "Nothing to do with the police, but yes, from British Airways. I was called a 'golliwog supermodel'. I don't really think that's fair. Do you?"

BA has banned her from flying on its aircraft. However, the airline's bosses are a concerned lot after the supermodel's charge, which comes close on the heels of allegations in The Independent in April that casual racism was rife among the airline's staff.