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Phone salesman Harraj Mann was hauled off a London-bound plane
by police after a taxi driver reported that the young man posed a terrorist
threat because he had asked the driver to play The Clash's London
Calling through the vehicle's stereo.
Harraj, who is of Indian heritage, missed his flight to Heathrow last
Thursday because of the security check and took a taxi back to Hartlepool.
He said he was questioned under the Terrorism Act.
Durham Police said a security check revealed that Harraj did not pose
a threat.
A spokeswoman also said that it was not just the music Mr Mann requested,
but the 'overall impression' he gave that aroused the taxi driver's suspicion. (hmm)
Harraj later told BBC Radio Five Live: 'I said to staff you've taken
me off my flight due to my taste in music, in a more colourful way.'
'I mean where does it stop? What if I was wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt,
what if I was wearing odd socks, you know.'
'I mean obviously the political climate these days is like walking on
egg shells, but I mean there's caution and then there's taking it to
the point where it's absurd and ludicrous.'
The contentious lyrics by the 1970s Clash song include the lines: "London
calling from the faraway towns, now war is declared and battle come down.
It's not only listening to music that could get you in hot water, in
June 2004, 35 year-old Mike Devine, from Bristol, was questioned by Special
Branch after he sent text messages of the lyrics from The Clash's song
Tommy Gun. They included the words 'gun' and 'jet airliner'.