By peter Ajayi
A primary school teacher in London was reportedly banned from working with children after telling a Muslim student that “Britain is still a Christian state.”
The incident, reported by The Telegraph, occurred at a London school and led to the teacher being referred to the local child protection board. It even drew the attention of a senior detective from the Metropolitan Police’s child abuse investigation team.
The anonymous teacher was suspended and later sacked after reprimanding students for washing their feet in the boys’ toilets. Following this, he reportedly told his Year 6 class that Islam was a minority religion in the UK and suggested that students could attend a nearby Islamic school if they preferred.
After the incident, the teacher was suspended in March last year and formally referred to the local safeguarding board and the Met Police. A safeguarding officer concluded that his comments about Islam were hurtful and caused emotional harm to the student.
Although the police investigation has been dropped, the teacher is reportedly suing the local authority with support from the Free Speech Union. He has appealed the ban and is currently working part-time at another school outside London.
Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union, commented:
“This teacher lost his job and almost faced a lifetime ban just for telling a class of Muslim students that the national religion of England is Anglicanism. If he had incorrectly claimed Islam as England’s official religion, he likely wouldn’t have faced the same consequences.”
