Private hire firm Uber is investigating an alleged homophobic incident which saw two gay men shouted down and kicked out of a cab for "pecking" each other on the lips.
Sam Simons, 36, claimed he and friend Santiago Figeuroa were in the back of the private car on their way home after a night out when the "ridiculous" incident flared up on Saturday.
The pair, both hairdressers, were only a few minutes into their journey from Chelsea back to Greenwich when Mr Figeuroa unfastened his seatbelt to shuffle across the back seats so they could look at photos on a phone together.
But when the 20-year-old put his arm around Mr Simons and kissed him, the driver allegedly stopped the car and screamed "Man should not kiss man" several times before ordering the pair out the cab.
"We didn't get out and told him to do his job and take us home but he refused to drive and kept yelling at us," Mr Simons said.
"It was not like we were all over each other. It was just a peck on the lips and an arm round my shoulder."
Eventually Mr Simons and his friend gave up, catching another Uber when the driver refused to take them home.
He added: "I love Uber - it's a great service. But this was unacceptable.
"I'm a pretty tough guy. While this was inappropriate, it didn't ruin my night.
"But it did ruin my friend's night, and I worry about other people being treated like that."
An Uber spokeswoman said: "As a company we do not tolerate any form of discrimination whatsoever, and we have been in contact with this rider to offer our support.
"Uber prides itself on providing the highest quality, safest and most convenient service, so we take any incident where we fall short very seriously.
"In any incident, such as this, we suspend the driver in question while we investigate."
