‘Aggressive’ LGBT protester confronted head in her office

Court hears of ‘intimidation’ of staff as council seeks end to school gate chaos

THE head teacher of Anderton Park School claimed leading protester Shakeel Afsar confronted her in her office in a “volatile and aggressive” state and demanded she stop sharing LGBT equality messages with pupils.

Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson was giving evidence on the first day of a High Court hearing to decide if a temporary exclusion zone around the school in Sparkhill needs to be made permanent to stop noisy protests at the gates.

During a two-and-a-half hours of cross examination, Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson spoke of staff being “too intimidated” to hold a parents’ evening and nursery children forced to miss playtime to avoid hearing the noisy protests.

She also said she had rejected calls for a mass meeting with parents amid fears it would end up “like the Jeremy Kyle Show”.

She told the court: “Yes, we say it is OK to be gay, because it is. There is a tension of course when some people believe homosexuality is sinful.

“But it is not sinful in British law.” Mr Justice Warby, sitting at the High Court in Birmingham, heard the first of an estimated four days of evidence this week in connection with an application by Birmingham City Council for a permanent exclusion zone to be established around the school to curb protests.

The council is seeking to ban three lead protesters, Shakeel Afsar, Rosina Afsar and Amir Ahmed, and ‘persons unknown’ from holding protests within the designated exclusion zone, or inciting others to protest there, or handing out leaflets or other material inside the zone connected to the school’s teaching.

The order would also restrict messages and negative messages about the school’s teaching and staff on social media.

The school has been at the centre of a campaign by mostly Muslim parents demanding the school stops sharing LGBT equality messages with young pupils. Protesters say the messages conflict with their ‘religious beliefs and family values’.

An emergency interim

order was granted in May, and later extended in June, which sought to halt any gatherings in sight and sound of the primary school that could disrupt pupils, or intimidate staff.

Opening the case for the council inside a packed court room, Mr Jonathan Manning QC said: “This case is not about preventing lawful and legitimate protest and freedom of speech – but unacceptable behaviour.”

Giving evidence, Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson said she met with parent Rosina Afsar accompanied by her brother Shakeel.

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson said: “He slammed his hands down on my desk. The first thing he said was he ‘demanded’ what I should do. He was volatile and aggressive, with little eye contact – he would shout and then apologise quietly, then shout.

“I had never been in a meeting like it in 22 years of teaching.”

There were calls for a mass meeting with parents to discuss what messages about LGBT equality were being shared with children.

The head teacher rejected those requests because she feared it would become ‘”like the Jeremy Kyle Show”.

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson said: “When I was deputy head we had a big meeting (with parents) to discuss our teaching of puberty and growing up, menstruation and so on. It became very aggressive. There were attempts by some men to separate men and women. Women were sent to sit at the back of the hall, a couple of people at the front were very vocal.

“There was shouting and braying and we had to abandon the meeting.

“I was not prepared to risk a repeat – it was such a sensitive issue.”

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson said she was not, as claimed, seeking to “smash heteronormative society” or “promoting homosexuality.”

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson added: “A dad came in my office and said to me that if his son wore a dress he would laugh at him.

“I explained that we would not, and could not, laugh at him at school. That is the difference.”

She added: “We are saying some children have two mummies – that is not promoting homosexuality.”

She was asked by the defendants’ barrister Mr Ramby de Mello: “Did you consider the content of some story books (And Tango Makes Three, Princess Boy and others) would arouse objections from the majority of parents at the school and would offend their core values?”

The head replied: “There is a tension for some Muslims but not from many Muslims in the community or among my staff (over half of the staff are Muslim).

“I have letters from Muslims who do not agree with the protesters. There is a tension of course when some people believe homosexuality is sinful. But it is not sinful in British law.”

The hearing continues.