McDonald’s has suspended a security guard who ordered a woman to remove her hijab before he would allow her to be served.

A video showed the man telling the Muslim student, 19, to take off her headscarf at the branch on Seven Sisters Road, in Holloway, north London.

‘McDonald’s has no policy which restricts or prevents anyone wearing a hijab, or any other religious attire, from entering our restaurants,’ a spokesperson said.

‘We welcome customers of all faiths and sincerely apologise for this situation. ‘We are taking this matter very seriously and are addressing the situation with the individuals involved; the security guard, from a third party company, has been suspended.’

The woman had stayed defiant and told the guard she was not prepared to remove her hijab and he was carrying out a ‘hate crime’.

‘Why can’t I come in to McDonald’s? Because I’m wearing a hijab?,’ she said. ‘I’m so shocked right now, reports the Metro.

I’ve been living in the UK for 19 years and this is the first time I’m faced with this kind of discrimination.’

Despite her pleas the guard continued to ask her to remove the headscarf or to leave the McDonald’s.

‘I will never walk into a McDonald’s again,’ the woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told the Guardian.

‘I thought: “‘It’s finally happening to me,” like it has to so many hijabis. It didn’t feel real because I had seen so many videos like this and it was finally happening to me in real life. I was in so much disbelief.

‘The friend I was with was shocked and scared, and said it was a risky situation. When it was over, I finally realised how these situations can become dangerous.

This is not a one-off thing.’ The woman had posted the smartphone footage of the incident on social media.