Batley teacher’s union donated money to charity that accused him of ‘terrorism’

Exclusive from The Telegraph. It comes as no surprise – my own former union, The PCS, for which I was a branch secretary for many years, funds all manner of dubious organisations but told me that the axing of my job by a Labour government was a sacrifice that had to be made, with the silent sub-text of to “increase diversity”. 

The union representing the Batley Grammar School teacher donated money to the charity that put his name in the public domain, it has emerged.

The Kirklees branch of the National Education Union (NEU) gave £3,000 to Purpose of Life, a charity based in west Yorkshire, which has been accused of leaving the teacher, who showed a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed to his class last week, in danger of “physical harm” by publishing his name online.

The group’s chief executive, Mohammad Sajad Hussain, accused the teacher of “terrorism” and “insulting Islam”, adding that the charity would not work with the school again until the RS teacher is “permanently removed”.

The teacher and his family have been in hiding after reportedly receiving death threats in the wake of the protests. The Mail reported that his neighbours had witnessed  …three Asian youths going to the teacher’s house and knocking on the door several times. They peered through his window and left after about ten minutes. A local pensioner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: ‘It was dark, but the area is well lit with street lighting and I had a clear view from my window. ‘One was on a bike and two were walking. One was wearing a hoodie. I watched them until they left. They knocked on the door a few times and they also tried the handle a couple of times.’ I might have hoped that they were calling to express support (the petition for his re-instatement started by some of his pupils is growing daily)  had they not tried the door handle. 

Purpose of Life – which has since removed the teacher’s name from its post online – was reported to the Charity Commission for acting in a “reckless” manner.

The NEU has been accused of being slow to condemn the threats of violence and intimidation that the 29-year-old teacher faced in the wake of the row. Now it has emerged that the union’s local branch, which is currently supporting the teacher through the disciplinary process, recently made a donation to Purpose of Life. On March 7, the charity published a video on YouTube to thank the NEU for its “kind donation of £3,000” and explain how it was spent – stocking a local food bank, building an education centre in Jordan and on a school in a Rohingya camp in Bangladesh.

Earlier this week, it emerged that the teacher’s family accused Batley Grammar’s headmaster, Gary Kibble, of “throwing him under a bus” by failing to fight his corner while he lives as a fugitive.