Council 'sorry' over advert

Northamptonshire County Council yesterday said it would be investigating after it issued the advert to private taxi firms.

It is understood the stipulations were made by the child's parents.

The advert stated: "The contractor must provide the escort. Please note that the escort must be female, white and non-Muslim."

A spokeswoman for the council said: "We apologise unreservedly for this error of judgment which resulted from trying to address the specific needs of an individual child.

"We're confident on the basis of our initial investigations that there was no malicious or discriminatory intent.

"However, we have now launched a full-scale review into this matter. We're deeply sorry for any offence or distress this has caused.

"The council takes equalities very seriously and we will not tolerate any practices in this organisation which discriminate against any group or community."

Generally, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against job candidates on the basis of their gender, race, sexuality or disability.

An unnamed Muslim taxi driver said: "To say it is offensive would be very strong because I don't know the reasons behind it, but the council should not be issuing tenders like this, full stop. I was in total disbelief that it would make such a stipulation."