The Bristol secondary school which blocked a planned visit by a Jewish MP last year has been cleared of antisemitism by an independent inquiry.
The Bristol Brunel Academy cancelled a visit from local Labour MP Damien Egan in September due to concerns around the prospect of protests against Egan, a member of Labour Friends of Israel, by pro-Palestine activists.
The local branch of the National Education Union (NEU) also said at the time that the cancellation came after “concerns were raised by the NEU trade union staff group, parents and local constituents”, adding: “This is a clear message: politicians who openly support Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza are not welcome in our schools.”
While the visit was eventually rescheduled and took place in February, the school’s trust, the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), commissioned an independent review into its conduct, led by retired headteacher Dame Joan McVittie.
The report, a partially redacted version of which was published yesterday, found that there was “no evidence of antisemitism” within the school or CLF.
That was despite the fact that Saima Akhtar, CLF’s diversity and inclusion coordinator at Bristol Brunel, was recently sacked after allegedly describing Hamas terrorists as “heroes fighting for justice”.
Per The Times, Akhtar was dismissed from the trust following the emergence of her alleged social media posts, including one on the day after October 7, reportedly comparing the attack to Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion and dubbing it a case of “oppressed people standing up and fighting back”.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph has subsequently reported, citing an unredacted version of the report, that the cancellation came after “one parent with family in the Middle East” objected.
Per the paper, this parent phoned the school’s headteacher “on the eve of the MP’s visit” to “express concerns”, and also “threatened to remove their child the next day if [the visit] was not cancelled”.
"The evidence I have gathered leads me to conclude that the decision to postpone was based not on the MP's religious beliefs or links to Israel but on a desire to protect him from potential abuse and harm as a consequence of this,” wrote McVittie, though it is not clear whether she was aware of Akhtar’s alleged remarks at the time of the inquiry.
She also offered several recommendations concerning political visits to schools, including calling on the Department for Education to release new guidance and for a closer working relationship between schools, local government and police forces.
Responding to the report, Egan thanked McVittie but urged the trust to release the full documents.
"I have seen the redacted version of the report that the Cabot Learning Federation Multi Academy Trust have released and would strongly encourage them to publish the complete version of the report,” he said, adding that he would be “writing to the Secretary of State to the same effect”.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “We welcome Dame Joan McVittie's thorough and robust investigation, and while no signs of antisemitic culture were found at this school or trust, the wider picture demands urgent action.
"Since 7 October 2023, antisemitic incidents in educational settings have more than doubled. It's a national disgrace, and we will not look away from it.
"That is why we have commissioned an independent national review to strengthen how schools and colleges prevent, identify and respond to antisemitism and all forms of hate."
Commenting on The Telegraph’s report, McVittie said: “It is disappointing that an early version of the report, which had not been fact-checked, has been leaked.
“The redactions in the published report are there so that individuals referenced cannot be identified, as is normal in a report of this kind. Both the unredacted report and the published report were shared with and agreed by the Department for Education.
“In my opinion, the redactions make no material difference to my findings and recommendations.”
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