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Stockbroker fired within hours of bad taste hit and run tweet

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By John Glenday, Reporter

January 7, 2015 | 2 min read

A stockbroker with a poor sense of humour has been fired by investment firm Hargreaves Lansdowne hours after posting a tweet in which he ‘joked’ about failing to stop after hitting a cyclist.

Rayhan Qadar took to Twitter at 08:30 on Monday after the incident to tell his followers: “Think I just hit a cyclist. But I’m late for work so had to drive off lol.”

Following up his post following a torrent of abuse Qadar claimed: “My previous tweet about the cyclist was obviously not true. I did not hit cyclist. Not today. Not ever. A bad joke on my part it seems."

His employers failed to see the funny side however and several hours later he had been sacked with a spokesperson for the firm saying: “One of our employees has failed to conduct themselves to the standards we expect of our staff.

"We find these online comments totally unacceptable. Upon becoming aware of this issue we have terminated this person's employment with immediate effect."

Avon and Somerset Police are currently investigating the tweet to ascertain whether a crime has been committed.

The case follows a 2013 incident in which a hit and run driver was charged after colliding with a cyclist and boasting of the encounter on the social network.

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