'What would happen if I had a scarf over my face?': Nightmare of
Fireman Sam creator branded a racist over quip to airport security

War hero said guards asked how he would feel if labelled a 'drunken old duffer'

He was detained for an hour and ordered to apologise

Retired 67-year-old calls it 'Orwellian nightmare'

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By
Andy Dolan

Last updated at 2:59 PM on 27th February 2012





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Humiliated: David Jones, who created Fireman Sam, is outraged by the way he was treated at Gatwick Airport


As
David Jones passed through airport security, his thoughts were turning
to lunch with his daughters, who were already ‘airside’.But
a light-hearted remark as he placed his scarf through the X-ray scanner
led to Mr Jones, the creator of the animated children’s character
Fireman Sam, being held for an hour by security guards and accused of
racism.Ex-fireman Mr Jones,
a former member of the Household Cavalry, said he experienced an
‘Orwellian nightmare’ after commenting on the ease with which a Muslim
passenger ahead of him – who had her face almost completely covered by a
hijab – had passed through security without showing her face.As
he placed his scarf and other belongings into a tray to pass through
the X-ray scanner, Mr Jones, 67, said to an official: ‘If I was wearing
this scarf over my face, I wonder what would happen.’To
his astonishment, he was stopped by security staff on the other side of
the checkpoint at Gatwick and accused of racism after a Muslim security
guard who heard the remark said it had caused her offence.Mr
Jones, who was flying with his two grown-up daughters to Faro in
Portugal – he now lives in the Algarve, where he runs a restaurant – was
then subjected to a one-hour stand-off involving security staff, a
British Airways manager and a policeman as security tried to make him
apologise.



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He said yesterday: ‘What
I said had nothing to do with the woman’s religion. It was the fact
that her face was covered and she seemed to have passed through that
part of the security process without showing it.

Tight security: David Jones was detained after being searched at Gatwick Airport

‘I was adamant I was not going to apologise because I had done nothing wrong.’

As the confrontation rumbled on last Sunday, his daughters were left waiting in the departure lounge wondering where he was.





Covered: A woman is allowed take her hijab off in a private room at UK airports

Mr Jones, originally from Ealing, West
London, said: ‘Something like George Orwell’s 1984 now seems to have
arrived in Gatwick airport. I feel my rights as an individual have been
violated. What I underwent amounts to intimidation and detention. I am
not opposed to having this level of security but it must be equal for
all.’
He intends to lodge a complaint with
the airport and BA. Mr Jones was stopped when, after passing through the
metal detecting arch, his artificial hip set off the alarm. He was
searched, after which another security guard said he was being detained
because he had made an offensive remark.
The woman took his passport and
boarding pass but although he maintained he had done nothing wrong, he
said it was ‘impossible to get her to listen to reason’.
A second female guard joined the pair. Mr Jones said she told him she was Muslim and ‘deeply distressed’ by his comment.


He again denied his remark had been
racist, and they were then joined by a BA duty manager, but Mr Jones
said they sided with the security staff. At his request a police officer
attended but, said Mr Jones: ‘It was plainly evident that he was
keeping to the politically correct code.’

He demanded that the officer should
arrest him if there was a case against him, but was told ‘that we now
live in a different time and some things are not to be said’.


Angry: Mr Jones, 67, was escorted through security under a police guard

The matter was eventually resolved
when Mr Jones agreed his remarks ‘could’ have been regarded as
offensive, and he joined his daughters.
Department for Transport rules do not
prevent people covering their faces at airports for religious reasons,
although all passengers must show their faces to UK Border officials at
passport control.
A Gatwick spokesman said: ‘A lady in
security was offended by some of the comments of this passenger. Our
security team is looking at what happened to ensure the incident was
handled in the right way.’
BA said: ‘Our customer service manager
did everything possible to help resolve the situation. The customer
then completed his journey.’
Fireman Sam was created by Mr Jones
and fellow fireman Dave Gingell, who came up with the idea when both
worked at Clerkenwell fire station in London.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2106631/Fireman-Sam-creator-Dave-Jones-detained-branded-racist-burqa-joke-airport-security.html#ixzz1nut8knaW