Birbalsingh says Braverman using school ‘as political football’

KATHARINE BIRBALSINGH has taken a swipe at Suella Braverman and accused her of using her school as a “political football”.

The headteacher of Michaela Community School in Brent, north London, who is dubbed Britain’s strictest, has hit out at Mrs Braverman in the wake of the row over her school’s prayer ban.

She won a legal challenge brought by a pupil who claimed the prayer restrictions at the school were discriminatory. Ms Birbalsingh described the outcome as a “victory for all schools”, after a judge rejected the Muslim’s pupil claim the policy interfered with her rights to religious freedom.

Ms Birbalsingh co-founded the nonfaith state secondary school with the former home secretary.

Mrs Braverman praised Ms Birbalsingh on Thursday and claimed Michaela, which she described as “one of the best schools in the country”, would “not have existed without the Conservatives’ Free School policy”.

But on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Birbalsingh said: “I really am not happy with Suella Braverman using our school as a political football to enhance her political career.

“It is as unacceptable as the BBC doing their best to smear us.

“Everyone seems to have an agenda. “Both Braverman and the BBC can take a hike.”

Ms Birbalsingh took the step of banning prayer rituals on the premises in March of last year after up to 30 students began praying in the school’s yard, using blazers to kneel on. The former government social mobility tsar said her decision was based on forging an environment “where children of all races and religions can thrive”.

Regulator Ofsted has rated the school as outstanding and it has a series of strict rules on students.

Both Mrs Braverman and the BBC declined to comment.