City equalities chief steps down following hijab school ban row

BIRMINGHAM equalities boss Waseem Zaffar has resigned as a council cabinet member after pressurising a head teacher to overturn a pupil’s hijab headscarf ban – without publicly revealing she was a relative.

The city councillor had stepped into the uniform row at St Clare’s Catholic School in January and demanded it change its policy to allow the headscarf.

But the Birmingham Post later revealed he had not publicly stated the young girl was a relative, although the council insisted he told it and the Handsworth school of the family link.

The story led to Cllr Zaffar facing further criticism, including from government integration expert Dame Louise Casey last week.

In a letter to council leader John Clancy, she condemned Cllr Zaffar’s involvement, with claims the controversy had echoes of the Trojan Horse scandal.

Now the equalities boss has stepped down from his key cabinet role – blaming “media speculation” for his decision.

Cllr Zaffar said: “After careful consideration and in light of continued media and social media speculation, I have discussed the situation with the leader of the council and I have decided I will step aside from my cabinet role with immediate effect. I will be asking the city council to commission an independent review into all current and historical speculation against me.

“Clearly this speculation is a distraction for Birmingham City Council at a time when John Clancy’s administration has important work to do. So I believe this is the right decision. I want to thank Cllr John Clancy for giving me the honour of serving this great city as a cabinet member.

I look forward to continuing to represent the people of Lozells and East Handsworth in my capacity as a ward councillor and I will con- tinue to serve the given me so much.”

Dame Casey had condemned the councillor’s actions in a letter to Cllr Clancy.

She wrote: “After careful consideration, I don’t think I can just let it go.

“Not only did the lead member for community cohesion visit the school to discuss the issue, he took to social media to say, ‘I’m insisting this matter is addressed asap with a change of policy’. ”

She pointed out there was no religious requirement for a girl of the pupil’s age to wear the scarf and the school was within its rights to ban the headgear.

Dame Casey also asked Cllr Clancy to clarify what support the school had been given and why Cllr Zaffar thought it appropriate to intervene.

St Clare’s School, based in Robert Road, has a strict uniform policy, including no headwear or scarf and had asked parents of the girl to respect it.

But Cllr Zaffar had demanded in January that the Catholic school change its uniform policy, claiming its ban on the hijab was in breach of the Equalities Act. It was not. city that has

>