London-Palm leave woven cross an offense and threat?

An electrician in the UK is facing the sack for displaying a small cross on the dashboard of his company van.Former soldier Colin Atkinson has been summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the giant housing association where he has been employed for 15 years because he refuses to remove the symbol, reports the Daily Mail.

Throughout his time at work, he has had an 8in-long cross made from woven palm leaves attached to the dashboard shelf below his windscreen without receiving a single complaint.

However, his bosses at publicly funded Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) in West Yorkshire - the fifth-biggest housing organisation in England - have demanded he remove the cross on the grounds it may offend people or suggest the organisation is Christian.

The association strongly promotes 'inclusive' policies and allows employees to wear religious symbols at work.

Atkinson, who has an unblemished work record, said he had not been shown similar respect.

"The past few months have been unbelievable, a nightmare," he said.

"I have worked in the coalmines and served in the Army in Northern Ireland and I have never suffered such stress. The treatment of Christians in this country is becoming diabolical. It is political correctness taken to the extreme."

But he added: "I have never been so full of resolve. I am determined to stand up for my rights. If they sack me, so be it. But I am standing up for my faith."

Atkinson's battle follows a series of similar cases involving Christians who claim their freedoms have been curbed following the introduction of controversial equality laws. (