A British peer has been arrested for "racially" abusing a Sikh taxi driver by calling him a 'Hindu' in Oxfordshire, some 90 kms from London, a senior police officer said.
The Marquess of Blandford, James Spencer-Churchill, was arrested following a complaint by Sikh cabbie Davinder Singh who had driven to pick him up from his farmhouse for an appearance at a court, the Daily Mail reported Thursday, quoting the officer as saying.
However, the 51-year-old peer, the son of the 11th Duke of Marlborough, is out on bail pending further probe.
"When I saw the Marquess of Blandford on the order, I was thinking he would be a polite gentleman but he is just a racist and there is no excuse for that," the daily quoted the 46-year-old taxi driver as saying.
"It was just unbelievable. I can put up with rudeness but not racism. I was having trouble finding his house, so I called him up. He not only abused me on the phone but also called me a Hindu when I arrived," he alleged.
According to Singh, the 51-year-old son of the 11th Duke of Marlborough also told him that he should remember that he was a guest in the United Kingdom and not British. "I was completely shocked. I replied that I was a British."
Singh, who has been a taxi driver for over 25 years, said it was then that he turned down the 120-pound fare and drove off. "I would not take it. Even if it was the prime minister, I would not take him if he spoke to me like that."
The cabbie also claimed that the peer had threatened him. "He told me I would never work for the (cab) company again. It was like he was saying he could do anything because he was rich and I am poor," he said, adding that he might launch a claim for damages in the court.
Spencer-Churchill's solicitor refused to comment on the allegations.