Michaela School: Muslim student loses prayer ban challenge - BBC

Cabinet Office

By Branwen Jeffreys & Jess Warren

Education editor

A Muslim student at a London school has lost a High Court challenge against its ban on prayer rituals.

Michaela School in Wembley was taken to court by the girl over the policy, which she argued was discriminatory.

The non-faith state secondary school previously told the High Court that allowing prayer rituals risked "undermining inclusion" among pupils.

The free school's founder and head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh said the ruling was a "victory for all schools".

In an 83-page written judgment dismissing the student's case, Mr Justice Linden said: "The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion."

'Free to do what is right'

About half the school's roughly 700 pupils are Muslim, the court previously heard. Students are expected to adhere to strict rules including focusing on teachers extensively during lessons and remaining silent in corridors, as well as observing restrictions on uniforms.

In March 2023, up to 30 students began praying in the school's yard, using blazers to kneel on, the High Court heard.

The school introduced the ban in the same month due to concerns about a "culture shift" towards "segregation between religious groups and intimidation within the group of Muslim pupils", the court was told.

Michaela is a free school and is therefore independent of the local authority, Brent Council.

There is no legal requirement for schools to allow pupils a time or a place to pray, although most schools are still required to provide "broadly Christian" collective worship.

However, parents, and pupils once they are over 16, can ask for an exemption from such worship, and in non-faith schools head teachers can apply for an exemption from the requirement.

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The case will be seen as upholding the right of non-religious schools to make their own decision about whether to set aside time and space for pupils to pray.

Ms Birbalsingh, a former government social mobility tsar, said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that a school "should be free to do what is right for the pupils it serves".

She added: "Schools should not be forced by one child and her mother to change its approach simply because they have decided they don't like something at the school.

"If parents do not like what Michaela is, they do not need to send their children to us."

• School made being Muslim seem toxic, ex-pupil says
• Head teacher quits as chief social mobility adviser

Following the ruling, the student said in a statement that she was "disappointed".

"As is set out in the judgment, I do not agree that it would be too hard for the school to accommodate pupils who wished to pray in the lunch break," she said.

"The school is very well run and generally very good at managing everything. The school doesn't wish to allow pupils to pray, has chosen a different path and the judge has found in their favour.

"Even though I lost, I still feel that I did the right thing in seeking to challenge the ban. I tried my best, and was true to myself and my religion."

She said she planned to remain at the school and focus on her GCSE exams.

"I am grateful for the understanding that my non-Muslim friends at school have shown as to the issues that affect us," she added.

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In the legal action against the north-west London school's governing body, the Michaela Community Schools Trust, the student alleged that the ban on prayer rituals breached her right to freedom of religion.

The school argued its prayer policy was justified after it faced death and bomb threats linked to religious observance on site.

The pupil, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court the policy had "fundamentally changed" how she felt "about being a Muslim in this country".

Lawyers for the pupil told the judge at a hearing in January that she was making a "modest" request to be allowed to pray for about five minutes at lunchtime, on dates when faith rules required it, but not during lessons.

Representing the student, Sarah Hannett KC told the court that the school's policy had the "practical effect of only preventing Muslims from praying, because their prayer by nature has a ritualised nature rather than being internal".

In Islam, as opposed to most other religions, prayers are required at specific times during each day. However, as the High Court ruling pointed out, Islam does allow for "Qada prayers" or a "make-up" prayer for those that have been missed.

• Reversing prayer ban would 'expose school to risk'
• Pupil takes school to court over alleged prayer ban

Dismissing the student's case, Mr Justice Linden said: "She knew that the school is secular and her own evidence is that her mother wished her to go there because it was known to be strict.

"She herself says that, long before the prayer ritual policy was introduced, she and her friends believed that prayer was not permitted at school and she therefore made up for missed prayers when she got home."

The judge upheld the student's challenge to a decision to temporarily exclude her from the school.

The key determination was about whether banning prayers compromised a child's freedom to express their religious beliefs under European human rights legislation, which the High Court decided it did not.

The case has led to renewed discussion about the broader role of faith within England's education system.

The National Secular Society, Humanists UK and others have long campaigned for reform, saying faith has no place in school.

'Impassioned stance'

Responding to the High Court judgment, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: "I have always been clear that head teachers are best placed to make decisions in their school.

"Michaela is an outstanding school and I hope this judgment gives all school leaders the confidence to make the right decisions for their pupils."

The student's mother said she was "dismayed" by the High Court's ruling.

She added: "My daughter's impassioned stance compelled me to support her, and I stand firm in that decision.

"Her courage in pursuing this matter fills me with pride, and I'm confident she's gained invaluable lessons from the experience."

Additional reporting by Aleem Maqbool

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Related Topics

• Free schools
• Brent
• High Court
• Muslims
• London
• Religion
• Wembley

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Six things that stand out for me in Liz Truss book - Chris Mason - BBC

Reuters

By Chris Mason

Political editor, BBC News

I have spent the last couple of weeks reading the former Prime Minister Liz Truss's new book, Ten Years to Save the West.

I was sent a copy to prepare for my interview with her, which you can watch on BBC iPlayer and listen to on BBC Sounds.

It is the best part of 100,000 words long.

You may have seen already some of what is making news from what she has said.

Here is what else stood out for me.

'Faltering' Conservatism

Ms Truss writes that "the Conservative movement across the West has been faltering for almost a generation".

She says the West has become "decadent and complacent," adding that "we have Conservative politicians accepting extremist environmentalist dogma and wokeism".

She argues there are "leftists in the Conservative Party" and the Tories have been insufficiently hungry to overturn some of the decisions taken by the previous Labour government, such as the Human Rights Act.

The former PM says some of her Tory colleagues are what she calls CINOs - Conservatives in Name Only.

She argues the environmental debate is "the single greatest example of Conservatives over the last few decades losing arguments to the Left" and claims plenty of environmentalists are "watermelons" - green on the outside, red (i.e. socialists) on the inside.

She argues the greatest threat to the environment is "the rise of authoritarian regimes".

Read more about Liz Truss

• Right-wingers need a bigger bazooka, Truss tells US
• Truss targets 'secret Tories' with new campaign
• The prime minister who resigned after just 45 days
• Liz Truss: 11 gambles that went wrong
• Liz Truss's last speech as prime minister in full

'The tyranny of the technocracy'

This is a big theme of the book. She thinks there are too many officials with too much power and not enough accountability.

She blames the Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, in part at least, for her downfall as prime minister and would like rid of him. Mr Bailey, for his part, has decided not to respond to her criticism.

She would scrap the independent economic forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility.

And she would pull the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ms Truss reckons too many civil servants are actually political activists

"If you're an environmentalist, you go and work at the Environment Department and if you're an equality campaigner, you go and work at the Government Equalities Office," she said.

"Thus, we end up with activists as civil servants, which I don't think happened in the past and which can present real problems."

Truss thinks furlough was too generous

"This has the effect of preserving the economy in aspic," she writes, "with little incentive for people to respond to the changed world by establishing new and innovative businesses."

'Snobbery' in the judiciary

Liz Truss says her time as justice secretary "radicalised" her.

The judiciary is a "self perpetuating oligarchy," she writes. "[The] sheer level of snobbery… shocked me."

She would scrap the Supreme Court. And she would dismantle the Judicial Appointments Commission.

In short, she thinks power of judicial appointments should lie with elected politicians.

Candid about her own limitations

She says she went about her time as justice secretary "in a clumsy fashion".

"I am gregarious and I like people, but even my best friends wouldn't describe me as a great people manager," she writes, adding that her usual style is "full frontal".

In summary…

Whatever you may think of Liz Truss, if you like political ideas and argument, this is a provocative and enjoyable read.

She gives direct answers to direct questions.

Some, of course, will never forgive her for her time as prime minister.

And some of those are very senior Conservatives.

Labour are delighted she is out and about again - they think her very appearance in a whole load of interviews is hugely helpful to their cause.

And if you are of a sceptical inclination, wondering why or whether she deserves attention, I would say all former prime ministers deserve scrutiny.

And hers is a voice still listened to and influential among her party members, as many Tories privately anticipate losing the election, and consider their future after it.

The former prime minister writes towards the end of the book that "the road to hell is paved with compromise and triangulation."

No one could accuse her of that.

Related Topics

• Liz Truss

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2024-04-16 05:58:34Z
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Flying drones over nudist beaches, blocking traffic and chasing frightened geese - how wannabe social media in - Daily Mail

By Mark Branagan and Tom Cotterill

Published: 02:49 EDT, 16 April 2024 | Updated: 04:22 EDT, 16 April 2024

TikTokkers filming on a nudist beach in Cornwall and trying to kick a goose in a London park are among the latest social influencers to have caused outrage.

The two-man film crew who invaded the privacy of Pedn Vounder were also filmed flying a drone over the naturist beach after being told to stop vlogging.

But a young woman promoting the seafront at Whitby came unstuck when her blogging stunt backfired and a seagull went to the toilet on her head midway through filming.

The videos are the latest in a slew of antics by social media wannabes at some of Britain's most prized getaways that have left locals enraged. Earlier this month MailOnline revealed how locals near beauty spots were complaining about the impact of tourists with photos and video showing piles of rubbish left behind and fights breaking out over issues like parking and queueing.

Now, bestselling children's author GP Taylor, who lives in Whitby, said social influencers should be banned from the Yorkshire coast. 

The furious local slammed 'talentless scumbags' who are 'completely vacuous and promote a life-style that is unreal.'

The writer added: 'They attract the wrong sort of person - drunks who vomit in the street and think they can behave how they want. I was in London and saw a social influencer chasing the geese in St James' Park. His mates were taking videos thinking he was highly amusing he was running around trying to kick a baby goose.'

Cameras have also been descending on Pedn Vounder after footage of the nudist beach was posted on YouTube by a number of influencers.

Although the beach is highly regarded as a gem of the Cornish coast anyway, influencers have been playing on its links to the naturist community.

Naked people are not photographed but one camera man remarks: 'There are naked people over there which is why I am pointing the camera the other way.

Later they appear further up the beach, saying: 'We were just told off for filming at the nudist beach so we are not going to film any more except in the water.'

Yet in a subsequent video they are seen flying a drone over the beach and joking about the nudists being already out.

In another video, by Yorkshire couple Aaron and Em, the man films himself walking along the beach chanting: 'D***s D***s Everywhere Little One Here Little One There.'

He is then seeing blowing up a paddle board leering 'Trying to get it big and hard on a nudist beach'

Bestselling children's author GP Taylor witnessed the incident where the selfie taker was dive bombed by the gull. He said: 'She was blocking the traffic and pedestrians taking a picture of herself with Whitby as a backdrop.

'Just as she was doing it in a white plastic mac a seagull s*** on her. Best thing that ever happened.

'Social media Influencers are talentless scumbags. No one should follow them because they are completely vacuous and promote a life-style that is unreal.

'All they do is set up shots which are not real and lie into their cameras. Whitby is beautiful on its own and does not need them.

'They attract the wrong sort of person - drunks who vomit in the street and think they can behave how they want.

'I was in London and saw a social influencer chasing the geese in St James' Park. His mates were taking videos thinking he was highly amusing he was running around trying to kick a baby goose.

'I told him if I caught him what I would do with the goose. We also have a problem with influencers during Whitby Goth Week.

'A lot of the Goth ladies are dressed in excitable clothing and the influencers get people to come and Goth Watch.

'It is not right. They should be able to dress how their want without people coming here to perv on them. Influencers do the Yorkshire Coast no good at all and should be discouraged from coming.'

Many in the tourist industry believe social influencers gained a strong foothold in the Staycation market during Covid.

Their blogging was blamed for attracting the wrong sort of crowd to traditional family resorts, leading to litter and anti-social behaviour problems.

Patrick Holdsworth, guiding light of the the community further up the coast in Robin Hood's Bay, said: 'We are lucky that we have never attracted that sort of teenage market.

'So we have not really had that sort of problem with influencers. We tend to attract more walkers and that sort of visitor.'

Unsavoury scenes see influencers seemingly disrespecting monuments - including a woman who ran away from security and touched the stones at Stonehenge. 

Other influencers filmed themselves signing their social media handles on beaches and climbing on top of an abandoned tank.

One video showed a woman at the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire touching the 13m-tall standing stones before being ushered away.

The TikTok user who uploaded the footage described her as a 'bad tourist', with comments in response including 'The no touching is to protect the bioculture on the stones' and 'Shouldn't she get a ticket or something?'

Another clip was posted by a TikTokker writing her online profile name Barbiana in the sand at a beach in Cornwall.

She told viewers: 'I'm a city girl, don't get me wrong, but look at this - you can't beat this, it kind of looks like Greece.

'Of course I had to sign my name out, always, before leaving the beach.'

A third revealed how cars have been clogging up the area around Snowdonia in Wales, while there has also been footage of people clambering on an abandoned tank in Derbyshire's Peak District countryside.

The Snowdonia video was posted by someone who told viewers: 'I thought there was some stupid people in the world and then there's this - three rows of cars, middle row completely locked in.'

And the footage of the Ramshaw tank in the Peak District was shared by the group Derbyshire Young Walkers, who accompanied it with the caption: 'Has anyone been to all three of these amazing hidden gems?! The Peak District is full of them!'

The two other attractions they recommended were a waterfall beside an aqueduct in Chatsworth, Derbyshire, and the nearby Hidden Druids Caves in Birchover.

Complaints from UK locals come as fed-up residents in the Canary Islands in Spain have also launched protests demanding a crackdown on British holidaymakers - with graffiti appearing on walls saying: 'Tourists go home.'

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Three killed and one critically injured in horror car crash at retail park in London - The Independent

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Three people have been killed and one left fighting for life in a horror car crash outside a busy shopping centre in north London.

The Met Police believes the incident near Staples Corner Retail Park in Brent Cross on Sunday night involved one vehicle carrying five young men. London Fire Brigade said the car hit a pedestrian bridge.

Police and firefighters attended the scene on the North Circular Road shortly before 11.30pm along with London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.

However, three people could not be saved and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Two others were taken to hospital, with one said to be in a critical condition while the other is being treated for injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening.

The Met Police has said the five people involved were all believed to be men in their 20s.

Inspector William Mcdonald, one of the officers responsible for policing in Barnet, said: “Emergency services responded last night to what seems to have been a terrible accident.

“An urgent police investigation is under way to establish the full circumstances, led by detectives from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit.

“Officers are in the process of informing the families of the five young people. The families will be supported by specialist officers. I send them my sincere condolences.”

Roads in the area remain closed as the investigation takes place. Police say there have been no arrests made.

Police officers stand beside a vehicle in the undergrowth at the scene (William Warnes/PA)

London Fire Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: “This was a tragic incident attended by our specialist crews who attended alongside our blue light partners to make the scene safe.”

The crash happened at the North Circular’s junction with the M1 outside Staples Corner Retail Park, which is a popular shopping destination with stores including Currys, Argos and Dunelm. It was also close to Brent Cross Shopping Centre.

Nearby business owners have spoken of their shock following the news of the deaths.

Tommy Bicak, owner of Work Man’s Cafe, told The Independent that he was aware of numerous casualties on the North Circular with pedestrian railings installed at a nearby junction to the crash after a customer’s father died 30 years ago.

Emergency services on the roundabout on North Circular on Sunday night (UKNIP)

He said: “It took me a long time to get to work today and I did wonder. Then I put two and two together and realised something serious must have happened. I’m very sorry to hear of the deaths and my thoughts are with the families.

“It’s a busy road and I’m not sure what further safety improvement can be made.”

Sunday’s crash follows several road deaths in London this year.

On 9 January, a 28-year-old woman died after she was hit by a car while walking her dogs in Enfield, and on 29 January, a person died after being struck by a bus outside Victoria station in central London.

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2024-04-15 12:56:32Z
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Angela Rayner council home tax row deepens as former aide contradicts her claims - The Independent

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The row over Angela Rayner’s previous living arrangements has deepened as her former aide reportedly wrote to police contradicting her claims.

Former staff member Matt Finnegan, who made an employment tribunal claim against Ms Rayner in 2018, said there was “no doubt in my mind that this was Ms Rayner’s family home” when he visited her at what she says was her husband’s address in 2014.

Police are investigating whether Labour’s deputy leader broke electoral law after Tory allegations that she may have given false information about her main residence a decade ago.

She was registered at a former council house she bought in Stockport, but it is understood Conservative Party deputy chair James Daly has suggested neighbours say she lived with her husband at a separate property.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has denied any wrongdoing over the row about her previous living arrangements (PA Wire)

Greater Manchester Police initially said it would not be investigating the allegations, but following a complaint from the Bury North MP, the force confirmed it had reassessed information and launched a probe.

The Sunday Times reported that Mr Finnegan told the police he “vividly” remembers her home was elsewhere.

He visited her around the time she became a parliamentary candidate at an address in Lowndes Lane, Stockport, in the summer of 2014, according to the paper.

“There was no doubt in my mind that this was Ms Rayner’s family home, where she lived with her then-husband, Mark,” his letter states.

“I remember it quite vividly because Ms Rayner was not at home at first and I had to wait for some time in my car before she eventually arrived. It was also memorable in that it was the first and only time I visited her home during the course of my voluntary work for her.”

Mr Finnegan previously left Ms Rayner’s employment with a £20,000 payout and non-disclosure agreement after accusing her of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal.

He had published a thriller about an ambitious MP known to her staff as “the Diva”, which contained lurid details that bore striking similarities to the deputy leader of the party. Mr Finnegan has insisted the novel Betrayal was “complete fiction”.

Ms Rayner has promised to resign if she is found to have committed a crime, but said she “followed the rules at all times”.

Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the police investigation into Ms Rayner’s living arrangements and said he had “full confidence” in her.

Shadow minister Jim McMahon dismissed the allegations earlier on Saturday as a “storm in a teacup” after defence secretary Grant Shapps accused Ms Rayner of “double standards”.

Ms Rayner previously suggested that former prime minister Boris Johnson should resign while Scotland Yard probed claims of Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street, prompting calls for her to step down while the police investigation continues.

Keir Starmer says he has ‘full confidence’ in his deputy (Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

However, Scott Wortley, a law lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, pointed out that any potential prosecution should have been launched within a year of the suspected crime.

Providing false information is an offence under Section 13D of the Representation of the People Act 1983, but the legislation imposes a time limit of a year for bringing any charge. As the allegations surrounding Ms Rayner relate to pre-2015, this suggests it is unlikely that she could be prosecuted.

Magistrates may extend that deadline in certain circumstances, but only by another year, according to the act.

Mr Wortley described the police probe as “completely pointless”, saying: “Why waste money on investigating something absolutely time-barred? They would not do it for (Road Traffic Act) matters nearly a decade after it could be prosecuted.”

“It is not the role of the police to investigate something that could never be charged.”

Journalist Michael Crick has also pointed out that former prime minister John Major had been registered in 1968 at a house that he had allegedly never lived at, according to BBC’s Newsnight.

Mr Crick added that: “Again, there was a big fuss, but no action was taken.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “Angela has always made clear she also spent time at her husband’s property when they had children and got married, as he did at hers.”

“The house she owned remained her main home.”

“Angela looks forward to sitting down with the appropriate authorities, including the police and HMRC, to set out the facts and draw a line under this matter.”

Yvette Cooper told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that Ms Rayner is “very keen to” set out facts to the appropriate authorities. She said: “It allows her to set out all the facts – not the sort of gossip, not the different allegations that we’ve had from Conservative MPs.

“We understand this is the run-up to local elections, we’ve seen this before with the Durham case as well.

“This is obviously about her family arrangements, her personal finances, and that’s really how it should be dealt with instead.”

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2024-04-14 10:42:10Z
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Manchester Arena bomb: Hundreds of survivors to sue MI5 - BBC

Greater Manchester Police

More than 250 survivors of the Manchester Arena bomb are taking legal action against MI5, lawyers representing them have confirmed.

Twenty-two people died and hundreds more were injured in the blast in May 2017.

Legal teams representing many survivors injured in the explosion said they have submitted a group claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT).

MI5 said it would not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

In March 2023, the director-general of MI5 Ken McCallum said he was "profoundly sorry" the security service did not prevent the Manchester Arena attack.

His comments followed the findings of a public inquiry which concluded MI5 missed a significant chance to take action that might have stopped the bombing.

PA Media

Chairman of the inquiry Sir John Saunders said the intelligence could have led to suicide bomber Salman Abedi being followed to a car where he stored his explosives.

Mr McCallum said he regretted that such intelligence was not obtained.

He said: "Gathering covert intelligence is difficult but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma."

Hudgell Solicitors, Slater & Gordon and Broudie Jackson Canter are the three lead firms in the action now being brought against MI5.

In a joint statement, they confirmed they had collectively submitted a group claim on behalf of more than 250 clients to the IPT.

"As it is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide any further details, or comment further, at this stage," they said.

The IPT is an independent judicial body which provides the right of redress to anyone who believes they have been the victim of unlawful action by a public authority using covert investigative techniques.

It also consider complaints about conduct by, or on behalf of, the UK intelligence services.

Why not follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk

Related Topics

• MI5
• Manchester Arena attack
• Manchester

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2024-04-14 11:39:59Z
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