HSBC bank workers sacked for staging mock Isis-style beheading on video

Banking giant HSBC has sacked six of its employees after they dressed one of their number in an orange jumpsuit and staged a mock execution while shouting "Allahu Akbar" - God is Great - like in an Isis video.

In the video, one of the team, named by staff as Saf Ahmed, is shown kneeling as the others stand around him wearing jumpsuits and balaclavas. They then hold Ahmed by the shoulders and "behead" him using a coat hanger like a fake knife.

The video has caused particular outrage as hostages of Isis including Britons Alan Henning and David Haines both wore orange jumpsuits when beheaded by "Jihadi John" - real name Mohammed Emwazi - in Syria.

Originally posted to Instagram and quickly deleted, the seven-second video was passed by horrified staff to The Sun, which published it online. It's believed the video was filmed at an HSBC team-building exercise at Teamworks Karting track in Birmingham. The men were from a nearby legal services team.

As soon as HSBC became aware of the sick video they sacked all those involved, including two men named by The Sun as Ahmed and his colleague Jabir Dar. Both had earlier denied involvement in the video but there is no suggestion that Ahmed was an unwilling participant.

A HSBC spokesperson said: "We do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

"As soon as The Sun brought this video to our attention we took the decision to sack the individuals involved. This is an abhorrent video and HSBC would like to apologise for any offence caused."

The incident is the latest embarrassment for the scandal-hit bank, which announced the cutting of up to 50,000 jobs worldwide last month. This followed revelations in February that HSBC bankers went to extraordinary lengths to help rich international clients avoid paying taxes.