Royal Marine told to cover up regimental tattoo at Heathrow because it was 'offensive' to other passengers

Published 01st Mar 2010

A former Royal Marine was told to cover-up a tattoo of his regimental badge by security staff at Heathrow Airport, because it was 'offensive' to other passengers.

Paul Fairclough, a former medic with the 539 Assault Squadron, was furious after he was challenged over the famous Marine dagger insignia as he arrived for a transfer flight.

The 29-year-old, who served in Kosovo and Iraq, had just arrived at Terminal 5 from Toronto and was transferring for a Manchester flight when he was stopped by a female security operator as he passed through a metal detector.

After he put his bag on to an x-ray machine he was told to take his jacket off - revealing the 12-inch tattoo on his right arm.

The female operator spotted the tattoo and said: 'That tattoo is offensive. You will have to cover it up.'

The father-of-one, who joined the Army at 19 and now works as a safety officer on oil rigs, refused to cover the design and walked past the guard.

Mr Fairclough said: 'I tried to explain that she was mistaken and that it was the insignia of my old regiment, the Royal Marines.

'She said she knew exactly what it was but that it made no difference. They had a policy that tattoos showing offensive weapons of any kind must not be on show.

'I was half annoyed and told her that there was no way I was covering it up and I walked on as she glared at me.

'I half expected to feel a tap on my shoulder but I just walked through the arch and went on my way.'

Mr Fairclough, who lives with wife Nicky and 1-year-old son Matthew in Tranmere, Wirral, then attempted to make a complaint after passing through security.

'I demanded to see a supervisor to ask for an explanation.

'He said they had a policy that offensive tattoos connected with gangs and weapons must be covered-up in the airport.
'But he said there was no ban on military insignia tattoos and tried to explain it away by saying that the operator concerned must have made a mistake.

'When I said that she had insisted that she knew exactly that it was a Royal Marines' badge he tried to say she must not have been trained properly.

'He didn't apologise and I was left feeling insulted, angry and incensed. I served my country and lost mates who were blown-up in Iraq.

'I am proud of my service with the Royal Marines and this left a bitter taste in my mouth.'

The Commando dagger is the formation flash of the Royal Marine Commando regiment and reflects its ability to adapt to combat situations. It does not appear on their uniform, but does appear on the Royal Marines Commando insignia.

A spokesman for British Airports Authority at Heathrow said: 'This should not have happened. We have no policy against tattoos.

'We do sometimes ask passengers to cover-up things like slogans that would be offensive to other travellers, but that is clearly not case on this occasion.

'BAA would like to offer our sincere apologies to the passenger concerned.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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