A group of Asian cabbies have called off their strike after their boss said he would no longer offer white drivers to customers on request.

More than 50 furious cabbies from Car 2000, in Heywood, walked out in protest after owner Stephen Campbell revealed his firm allowed callers to specify the race of their driver.

They gathered in the town on Friday night to take a stand against the policy – blasting it as ‘racist’ and ‘discriminatory’.

But, after Mr Campbell told the M.E.N. his firm would no longer offer the service, the drivers have decided to go back to work for Car 2000.

A statement, issued on behalf of the business and the drivers today, said: “Car 2000 does not operate any policy of allocating drivers according to their ethnic background/race.

“Car 2000 has reviewed its practices to ensure that any bad practice that may have crept in has been eliminated. It seeks to operate at all times within the law.

“Furthermore, Car 2000’s drivers operate according to the highest professional standards in safeguarding. This is under constant monitoring.

“The drivers have returned to work with immediate effect.”

“Representatives of all the drivers will continue to meet regularly with management to strive to make Car 2000 an example of best practice.

“Car 2000 is grateful to so many members of the local community for their ongoing support.”

(Image: Steve Allen)

Mr Campbell met the drivers to thrash out the issue yesterday after five days of controversy for Car 2000.

In 2011, his family took over the business, which was formerly called Eagle Taxis, which employed two of the nine men jailed a year later for grooming girls.

Last week, Mr Campbell told the M.E.N. his staff would provide customers with white drivers on request.

He said the firm did this in part to protect his employees. He described one occasion when one of his Asian drivers had been to pick up a customer who refused to get in his car – and this had left the cabbie upset.

Mr Campbell, 34, said: “I don’t operate a company that makes people feel bad. I was trying to protect them. But I suppose in protecting them I was contributing to people’s racist beliefs.”

He added that all his drivers were aware of the policy but he stopped it immediately when they raised issues with it.