Van rental refused on basis of colour
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A black student has been awarded £3,000 damages after taking a van hire company to court, claiming it refused to lease him a vehicle because of his colour.
Ian Thompson, 34, a post-graduate student of Darlington, Co Durham, launched his legal battle with the backing of the Commission for Racial Equality after a white friend was allowed to hire a van for a similar journey. The case against North Road Self Hire is the second won by the CRE against vehicle hire firms in north-east England in the past six months.
The commission's northern region director, Eric Seward, said: "Car and van hire firms ... have a legal responsibility not to discriminate. That such companies are behaving in this way is a sad indication of how deeply rooted racial discrimination still is."
Mr Thompson went to collect a van booked over the telephone from North Road Self Hire, Darlington, but when he told the firm he was going to Liverpool the company allegedly told him there was a 25-mile radius limit on the vehicles. Mr Thompson then arranged for a white friend to request a van to travel to Sheffield; the friend was given the van.
After the contested small claims hearing at Newcastle County Court, Mr Thompson said: "I never expected this kind of treatment ...This is not my vision of multicultural Britain in the 21st century."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments