NASUWT: Decision by GTC to clear BNP teacher is ‘absolutely staggering’
Responding to the news that Adam Walker, a British National Party (BNP) activist and teacher, has been cleared of racial and religious intolerance by a General Teaching Council (GTC) hearing, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“This is an absolutely staggering judgement from the GTC.
“Adam Walker used a school laptop to post comments online which described immigrants as ‘savage animals’ and ‘absolute filth.’
“Today’s decision confirms that the public can have no confidence in the GTC.
“The GTC’s code of conduct requires teachers to ‘demonstrate respect for diversity and promote equality’ but the decision today makes a mockery of the code.
“The GTC code of conduct clearly is not worth the paper it is written on.
“The panel described Mr Walker’s comments as ‘troubling’. This must go down as a gross understatement.
“With this decision, the GTC has effectively given a licence to promote religious and racial hatred in schools.
“The NASUWT has been at the forefront of the campaign to ban the BNP and other far right and fascist organisations from working as teachers but we have been badly undermined by this GTC judgement.
“The idea that a person who signs up to an agenda of racial and religious intolerance can simply leave such beliefs at the school gate and behave in a ‘professional’ manner, is risible.”
ENDS
Stuart Gannon
NASUWT Press Office
Tel: 020 7420 9681
Mobile (and out of hours contact): 07966 198894
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