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Petition demands ‘hate-rant’ Preston taxi driver is stripped of licence

Posted on - 27th December, 2018 - 7:00am | Author - | Posted in - Crime, Politics, Preston Council, Preston News
Zaheer Hussain was at the centre of the video which surfaced online
Zaheer Hussain was at the centre of the video which surfaced online

More than 1,000 people have called for a Preston taxi driver to lose his licence.

Zaheer Hussain, 41, was arrested last week following a hate-filled rant against Christians appearing on social media.

Preston Police launched an investigation and have since released Mr Hussain pending further enquiries.

Preston City Council confirmed to Blog Preston that Mr Hussain holds a licence to drive Hackney cabs (black cabs) in the city and that they are investigating.

25-year-old Daniel Allen, from Preston, began the petition in response to seeing the video online.

He said: “This petition addressed to Preston City Council was started with the intention to have Mr Zaheer Hussain’s taxi licence revoked following a video that was uploaded to social media.

“I believe that video shows the 41 year old demonstrating hate speech by threatening to rape people who converted from Islam to Christianity.

“He also demonstrated a dislike towards Christians within the video and therefore shown an extreme conflict of interest given the nature of his job.

“People should feel safe when in a taxi however given these comments and the nature of them, it would be a compromise on people’s safety if Mr Hussain was to continue as a taxi driver.”

The video, which Mr Hussain has since apologised for in a second video, was filmed as he and a friend are seen driving by Moor Park.

Read more: See the latest news and headlines from across Preston

A Taxi and Miscellaneous Committee is due to meet on Wednesday 9 January – Mr Hussain could be called before it to explain his outburst to councillors if they choose to move to strip him of his licence.

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