Surely the van is checked on a regular basis. As such, it would smack of hypocrisy on their part - and I can see why the guy is querying the decision.
I doubt the vans are checked regularly at all. They were part of the same Authority as me, and all we have is a daily check sheet. The only thing that would vaguely cover this would be the box that says 'cab clean and tidy'. Otherwise it would be down to a random check by Fleet enforcement.
One of my team is a Daily Express reader, and typically it came up there. He'd brought his palm cross in that he'd had for years, as well as a glint in his eye, but both of them agreed that since it's not his van he can't dictate the rules.
Perhaps he should check what the Bible says about submitting to eathly authorities.