Driver demands to see Muslim mother’s face

A YOUNG Muslim mother was “treated like a terrorist” after a bus driver demanded she removed her face veil over safety fears.

The 20-year-old said she was left “humiliated” when the First Bus driver launched into a tirade against her as soon as she boarded with her twomonth-old baby.

The woman barely managed to ask for a ticket before the driver began a rant against her for wearing a face-covering niqab.

The driver asked her to remove the garment, declaring that “the world is dangerous” and it was “not good” that he was unable to see the woman's face.

Bus company bosses yesterday said the driver of the number 24 bus from Easton to Bristol city centre, had been disciplined for the incident which took place on July 1.

A video of the posted online.

The victim, who has asked not to be named, said she has been left feeling incident has been “horrible and disappointed” after the driver “made me out to be a terrorist”.

She said: “He said I was scary and I was dangerous, and he kept talking about it during the journey. He was insinuating I was going to bomb the bus.

“I get that he might not be from the country, so maybe he has never seen a person with a face veil, but for him to treat me like that in a public place is wrong.”

Other passengers jumped to the defence of the young mum. One witness, who was wearing a hijab, confronted the driver, saying: “I don't understand why you care how she's dressed.”

To which the driver responded: “I care because this world is dangerous. If you don't see somebody's face, that's not good.”

A spokesman for First Bus said: “We would like to fully and unreservedly apologise to the customer for the distress caused when one of our drivers expressed his personal opinions.”

Avon and Somerset Police said they were investigating a report of a hate crime in Bristol on July 1.