A Catholic airport worker has been suspended for posting up an image of Jesus in a Manchester City Airport staff room after a Muslim colleague complained, it has been reported.
The picture was of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a picture close to the hearts of many Catholics.Gareth Langmead was accused of posting the image up as “an act of provocation” according to the complaint.
Mr Langmead, who is a car park supervisor at Manchester airport, says he found the image when clearing out a desk drawer and hung it up rather than throwing it away.
However, a Muslim colleague later complained, which led to Mr Langmead being escorted off the airport’s premises and barred from work while bosses investigated the claim.
A spokesman for the airport later said Mr Langmead had been found innocent of wrongdoing, according to The Times, and was reinstated after three days.
The spokesman said: “This investigation was swiftly concluded and the employee has returned to work with a clean record.
“Given the nature of this incident, we have agreed with our airport Chaplain that he and his team will work with the employees involved to foster a greater level of understanding about each other’s beliefs and how this applies in the workplace.”
In 2006, Nadia Eweida, a Christian British Airways check-in worker at Heathrow, was suspended for four months for wearing a cross on her necklace. The airline later agreed to review its uniform policy after extensive bad publicity, and she was allowed to return to work.
