PM says those responsible for Damien Egan MP ban will be held ‘to account’

They attacked Egan over the fact that he is vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel “and has visited Israel since the current onslaught on Gaza began, demonstrating his support”.

The post went on: “We celebrate this cancellation as a win for safeguarding, solidarity, and for the power of the NEU trade union staff group, parents, and campaigners standing together”, along with an emoji of the Palestinian flag.

The matter was raised at Prime Minister’s Questions by Conservative MP Lincoln Jopp.

He told the Commons: “I was frankly appalled to hear that the Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol North East was prevented from visiting a school in his constituency because he is Jewish. This is antisemitism, and it is happening in plain sight.”

Jopp continued: “With all due respect to the prime minister, I don't want to know how he feels about this. I want to know what he's going to do about it.”

Sir Keir Starmer thanked the MP for Spelthorne for raising what he thought was a “very serious, very concerning” incident.

“All members of parliament should be able to visit anywhere in their constituency, schools or other places without any fear of antisemitism,” he said, adding that the government took antisemitism incredibly seriously “We're providing more funding for security and support we're putting in across the country”.

Starmer went on to say: “We will be holding those to account who prevented this visit to this school.”

On Sunday, the communities secretary first made reference to the incident at the Jewish Labour Movement’s conference.

Without naming Egan, Steve Reed told the audience: “I have a colleague who is Jewish, who has been banned from visiting a school – refused permission to visit a school in his own constituency – in case his presence inflames the teachers. It’s an absolute outrage that that could have possibly ever happened.”

He went on to say that those responsible would be “called in and they will be held to account for doing that”, adding “because you cannot have people with those kind of attitudes teaching our children”.

The NEU has been criticised by Jewish communal groups, including the Jewish Leadership Council and Board of Deputies who said that “it is nothing short of outrageous that a Jewish MP was prevented from speaking to pupils at a school in his constituency because of pressure from NEU members".

A spokesperson from the NEU has told the JC that the organisation was “rooted in anti-racism in all forms, including antisemitism” and that the union’s head office “had no knowledge that the school had rescinded the invite to the local MP until it was reported in the press yesterday”.

Their statement continued: “Indeed, the school is quoted as saying this was a decision that they took and the visit has been rescheduled.

“It is good that MPs, especially those in the party of government, seek to engage with schools, especially on issues such as the dire state of school funding, the intensity of teaching and the impact of social media on young people.

“It is also legitimate for constituents to express their views to MPs on national and international issues, including the extraordinary human suffering in Gaza. The NEU believes in democratic engagement. Central to that is dialogue and discussion, and sometimes this will include a robust exchange of views.

"The NEU strongly believes that education must be a tool in challenging antisemitism and responding to incidents of antisemitism in schools or local communities. The NEU takes this position very seriously. The historical causes of antisemitism must be covered in classes, using the whole curriculum and developing a whole-school culture where racism is taken seriously and challenged."