An elementary school teacher in London was dismissed and referred to authorities after telling a Muslim pupil that Britain was a “Christian country,” according to the lawyer supporting his legal challenge.
The case from earlier this year has added to the broader debate about free expression, multiculturalism and the use of safeguarding mechanisms in British schools — the system designed to ensure a safe environment in which children can learn.
Lord Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, told Fox News Digital that the central accusation was triggered by the teacher’s statement that Britain remains a Christian country. “To claim that Britain is a Christian country and to point out that the king is the head of the Church of England isn’t a particularly politically contentious thing to say. It’s just stating a pretty straightforward fact.”
The complaint also involved the pupil washing his feet in a school sink — a pre-prayer ritual for Muslims. “The parent of a boy at the school complained because the teacher had told the boy not to wash his feet in one of the sinks in the school lavatories,” Young added.
He said the Free Speech Union is seeing a rise in referrals to safeguarding panels for mainstream views. “We’ve got over a dozen cases of people being referred to safeguarding panels because they are said to be a threat to children’s safety just because of the views they’ve expressed.”
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After the school dismissed the teacher, the case was referred to the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA). Young said the TRA held a full hearing and ultimately “dismissed the charges,” finding “no case to answer.” Had it gone the other way, he said, the teacher could have been barred from the profession for life. The Free Speech Union is now funding the teacher’s lawsuit for unfair dismissal.
Young also tied the case to a national debate over the U.K. government’s work on a nonstatutory definition of Islamophobia, something his organization opposes. He warned such a definition could be embedded into “speech codes,” with potential disciplinary consequences.
He said the governing party fears losing parliamentary seats to Muslim independent candidates — a dynamic he argues has created political incentives to grant “special protections” to Muslim constituencies.
