Sacked pilot says ex-Birmingham City star Robbie Savage did not pose terrorist threat

Mar 18 2009 by Edward Chadwick, Birmingham Mail

AN AIRLINE pilot sacked for letting footballer Robbie Savage in to his cockpit told an employment tribunal he did so because the ex-Blues star posed no terror threat.

Gulf War hero Pablo Mason said he believed there were different rules for private charter services – like the one carrying Savage and his team-mates – than for tourist flights.

Capt Mason, of Leamington Spa, lost his job with Thomas Cook Airlines in 2007 and is claiming unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal being held in Birmingham.

At the time of the incident with Savage, he had already been given a written warning for what his bosses described as “eccentric behaviour and lack of professionalism”. In one incident, Capt Mason – who saw service with the RAF in 1991 – stripped to his underwear for a security check.

Giving evidence yesterday on the fifth day of the tribunal, Captain Mason said he had believed he was authorised to allow passengers into the cockpit during private charter flights.