"I'm really shocked and surprised by all of this," Mr Atkinson said. "I have always had that cross in my van. It's a symbol of my personal faith. It's not offensive. It's in a discreet place."
The boss of the depot where he works in Castleford, West Yorks, has been allowed to decorate his office with a poster of Guevara, the Argentinian revolutionary. Denis Doody, WDH's environmental manager, also has a whiteboard on which are written several quotations by the Marxist guerrilla leader.
Last night Mr Doody said company policy prevented him from commenting on the issue.
However, a colleague said Mr Atkinson was a born-again Christian who expressed his religious views "far more overtly than just having a cross in his van". The colleague confirmed that Mr Doody had a poster of Che Guevara beside several motivational quotations, along with the sayings of other figures.
He said: "There is more to this than meets the eye. Colin has certain viewpoints and lets everyone know them." The Wakefield-based organisation started an inquiry after it received a complaint from a tenant about the palm leaf cross.
Mr Atkinson could lose his job over his alleged failure to comply with company policy, which prohibits employees from displaying personal items in the organisation's vehicles.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, chief executive officer of the Christian Legal Centre which is supporting Mr Atkinson, said: "This smacks of something deeply illiberal and remarkably intolerant."
WDH said all its drivers were subject to the same rules.
"We do not allow employees to display any personal representations in our vehicles, although they are free to do so upon their person," a spokesman said.
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