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Teachers 'allowed to be BNP members'
Fri 12 Mar 2010
Teachers should be allowed to join extremist groups such as the British National Party (BNP), a government report has stated.
Former chief inspector of schools Maurice Smith was asked to produce a series of recommendations to clamp down on the issue of racism in schools.
However, he stopped short of suggesting that teachers be banned from joining far-right organisations.
Restrictions of this kind already exist in the prison service and the police, but Mr Smith argued that it would not be beneficial in the education sector.
He said there was not enough evidence of risk to justify such a ban and said barring school workers from joining far-right groups would be "disproportionate" and a "profound political act".
The decision has been welcomed by BNP leader Nick Griffin, who said classrooms should be places of learning and not "indoctrination centres" for the left.
He added that there have been many instances of "extremist leftist" teachers trying to force their views onto children, but not a single case of a BNP-supporting teacher promoting their views to pupils.
Stephen Hart, a solicitor at Winckworth Sherwood Solicitors, commented: "This decision, which may appear distasteful, accords with current legislation and case law.
"Teachers have the freedom to hold political views within the law.
"The fact that the BNP is a lawful organisation – although the courts today insisted that the party's revised constitution continues to breach race discrimination legislation – and has appeared on political programmes such as the BBC's Question Time, means that it would be disproportionate to bar them from joining it.
"However, schools – like most employers - can insist that their employees should not conduct themselves in a manner which risks bringing the school into disrepute.
"This requirement can be imposed even for conduct outside the workplace, provided that the disciplinary policy makes this explicit.
"Active membership, eg: through taking part in demonstrations etc, of an extremist organisation – political or otherwise – may fall within that policy."
