Tribunal upholds sacking of BNP bus driver

The UNISON public services union has welcomed an employment tribunal decision that a bus driver was lawfully sacked for being a member of the British National Party (BNP).

Arthur Redfearn claimed racial discrimination when he was sacked after West Yorkshire Transport Services (WYTS) discovered he was standing for election to Bradford council as a BNP candidate.

The tribunal found that WYTS's parent company, Serco, was right to sack Redfearn from his job as a driver responsible for transporting disabled children and adults, on health and safety grounds. The company feared that WYTS buses could be attacked when it became known that Redfearn was a BNP activist.

UNISON had written to Bradford Council and Serco expressing its grave concerns over Redfearn.

General secretary Dave Prentis, said he was delighted with the tribunal's decision. He said union members found Redfearn's racist views in the workplace "intolerable", and added: "Bradford is a multicultural community and there is no doubt that as an active member of the BNP the public would be put at risk if he had been allowed to stay in his job."