'Send me a white, British driver' – minicab firms reveal passenger demandsHULL'S biggest private-hire minicab company is supplying white, British drivers on request from its customers.
Gary Wilkinson, owner of 35 Minicabs in Holderness Road, east Hull, insists his company is responding to customers' demands and is not doing anything wrong.
He said: "You cannot stop customers making requests.
"We will try to send a white, British driver, if we are asked, but we do tell our customers we can't always guarantee it."
In the past, drivers received messages from the company's base containing the letter Z – code for when a customer has requested a white, British driver.
"We used to put Z on jobs, but we haven't done that for a while now," he said.
Mr Wilkinson made it clear that he does not discriminate and praised his 25 drivers who are of non-white, British origin.
He said: "I am totally against racism of any kind.
"I am married to an Arabic woman and our children are mixed-race."
Mr Wilkinson said his call operators typically receive about six requests a week for "local" drivers.
"A customer may have had a bad experience with a coloured driver in the past," he said.
"Maybe they have felt a driver has ripped them off.
"Some people will then say, 'I only want a white British driver'.
"It's racist, because these people are not ringing up the next day saying don't send me a white driver if they happen to think a white driver has overcharged them."
Meanwhile, Wayne Harrison, owner of 50 Minicabs, claims as many as 20 per cent of his customers demand a white British driver.
He said: "Customers will ring you up and say 'Don't send me a ... They'll then use a racist word.
"We don't give them a choice. We will send a car. It's up to them if they get in or not."
Mr Harrison said he employs 50 drivers, including four or five who are not white British.
"Let me tell you, they are super workers," he said. "They just want to earn a living."
Mr Harrison said it is time perceptions changed.
"In ten years' time there will be few white, British drivers left in this city," he said. "They will be in the minority, just as they are in places like Newcastle.
"If most of the people who ring requesting white, British drivers actually had one of our other drivers, they probably wouldn't want a white driver again, because they're so good."
The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against employees because of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin.
However, there is no suggestion private-hire companies who respond to customers' requests are breaking the law.
Hull City Council has told the Mail 35 Minicabs' policy does not run contrary to the conditions of its licence.
Councillor Rosie Nicola is the authority's cabinet member for equality and community cohesion.
She said: "I am a Hull girl born and bred and I am really proud of the increasing diversity of this city.
"I believe that community diversity brings a richness and vitality.
"I find it really sad that people in Hull are ringing up our minicab companies making these kinds of demands. It's a really sad message to be sending out that people aren't happy with someone based simply on the colour of their skin."
Cllr Nicola said the minicab companies are being put in a difficult position, but singled out 50 Minicabs for their stance.
"Good on them," she said. "If someone doesn't want to get into a minicab driven by someone with a different skin colour, make them wait in the cold."
A Hull-based lawyer, who did not wish to be named, said: "This is a very thorny issue – a nest of vipers.
"There may be discriminatory issues under the Equality Act 2010 committed by call operators if they were to offer a job only to a white British driver."
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