Religious studies teacher who posted ‘glory to Hamas’ allowed to keep teaching

In another, he referred to Hamas terrorists as “defenders of humanity”, adding: “May God grand [sic] them victory in their homeland over the grotesque, barbaric, idol-worshipping invaders.”

Preston, who at the time was teaching Year 9 students, also described the October 7 attacks on Israel as a “justified act of resistance” and claimed that Hamas had “committed no crime”.

Despite the severity of his posts, the Teaching Regulation Agency decided not to ban him from the profession, instead concluding that publishing its findings was sufficient punishment.

Preston was dismissed from his teaching position in London after GnasherJew exposed his X posts (GnasherJew)[Missing Credit]

Preston – who moved back to his native Ireland after losing his job in London – told the panel he was “remorseful” for his “highly offensive” posts, adding that he “wished to apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community”.

By way of an explanation, he said that he had been working long hours at the time and had become socially isolated, describing his posts as an “emotional” response to the reports coming out of Gaza. 

Making their ruling, the panel deemed Preston’s posts “abhorrent and extremely offensive”, saying that they demonstrated “a lack of tolerance and respect for Israel, Jewish people and Judaism, and that they undermined British values”.

Yet despite recognising the “serious nature of the misconduct” and the fact that Preston had “brought the profession into disrepute”, they ultimately decided “a prohibition order would not be proportionate in this case”.

Explaining their decision, the panel chairman, Adnan Qureshi, said: “It [the panel] considered that publication of the findings in respect of unacceptable professional conduct and disrepute would adequately mark the seriousness of this matter.”