Mason, 40, only took over the BBC Radio Bristol weekday afternoon programm six weeks ago. Mason allegedly told a Bristol taxi firm “not to send an Asian driver to pick up her daughter”. She proceeded to say that “A guy with a turban on is going to freak her out.” When the dispatcher (who recorded the exchange) objected, she said “You’ve managed it before.”
To make matters worse, she later tells a supervisor that she works for BBC. She tells him: “I work at the BBC. I’m far from racist and that uneducated woman has no right to call me one.”
Here is the transcript:
Mason: “I know this sounds really racist, but I’m not being . . . please, don’t send anyone like, you know what I mean. An English person would be great, a female would be better.”
Operator: “We would class that as being racist. We can’t penalise the Asian drivers and just send an English one.”
Mason: “You’ve managed it before.”
Operator: “Right, OK. I don’t agree with it personally.”
Mason: “It’s not your 14-year-old girl who’s, you know, is it?”
Operator: “Yes, but that’s racist to say you don’t want an Asian driver.”
Mason: “If it were me I wouldn’t care if it had two heads, but it’s my little girl we are talking about.”
That was enough for BBC management and she was fired.