Sikhs travelling through Britain's aiports will no longer undergo 'humiliating' searches of their turbans following fierce criticism of the policy.
Just two months ago security staff were told they could pat down and unravel a sikh's turban if the metal detector bleeped as they walked through.
But these powers - given under European legislation - were branded as unaccpetable by the religion's leaders in Britain and the Department of Transport has had to act quickly.
'It is considered very offensive to remove or touch a Sikh's turban, especially in public,' said Dr Indarjit Singh CBE, advisor to the Commission for Racial Equality.
'It's the equivalent of asking someone to undergo a strip search in public in western culture.
'Different things are considered insulting in different cultures - there are different ways of upsetting people, and we should try to keep that to a minimum.'
A spokesperson for Birmingham International Airport said: 'On Thursday the Department for Transport advised all UK airports to continue using the previous methods of screening religious headwear, which eliminates the need to carry out hand searches. We have reacted accordingly.'
Sikhs who set off alarms at airport body scanners will now have their turban scanned by a hand held wand, and will only be subjected to searches by hand if metal is detected in the turban.
with thanks : source : dailymail
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