Palm cross van driver suspended

A Christian employee who won the right to display a palm cross in his company van has been suspended.

Colin Atkinson was asked to remove the cross by his employers, Wakefield and District Housing (WDH), after a complaint was made that it may offend people of other faiths.

With the assistance of Christian Concern, Mr Atkinson successfully negotiated with WDH and was granted permission to continue displaying the cross in his van.

In spite of the company's u-turn, Mr Atkinson has continued to face problems at work. His van was taken away from him and he was relocated to a different workplace 16 miles away.

WDH said the van had been removed due to "general financial cutbacks" and that he should instead take the bus to work.

He has filed a grievance procedure and has been suspended from work pending further investigation.

He told the Daily Mail: "I thought common sense had triumphed when the company agreed I could go back to work. But I have found there is still a lot of hostility against me, even though I have done nothing more than defend the basic rights of Christians to express their faith in public.

"My employers have broken their promises and I believe they are trying to humiliate me or dismiss me for seeking to stand up for my rights. It is disgusting what they are doing."

He said WDH was encouraging him to retire early but on condition that he and his family do not speak about the case publicly.

"That is not my style. It would be breaching my human rights," he said.

Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, said Mr Atkinson had continued to suffer harrassment and victimisation after the media attention died away.

She said: "It seems that WDH hoped that Colin could be bought off and go quietly. But he will not be gagged or bullied."