Trojan Horse scandal

The Trojan Horse scandal , also known as " Operation Trojan Horse " or the Trojan Horse affair , refers to a scandal involving claims of an alleged conspiracy that there was an organised attempt to introduce an " Islamist" or "Salafist" ethos into several schools in Birmingham , England . The name, based on the Greek legend , comes from an anonymous letter sent to Birmingham City Council in late 2013, alleged to be from Birmingham "Islamists" detailing how to wrest control of a school, and speculating about expanding the scheme to other cities. The letter was leaked to the press in March 2014. Around a month later, Birmingham City Council claimed that it had received "hundreds" of allegations of plots similar to those illustrated in the letter, some dating back over 20 years. Tahir Alam, former chairman of the Park View Educational Trust which ran three schools in Birmingham, was alleged to have written a 72-page document for the Muslim Council of Britain in 2007 detailing a blueprint for the " Islamisation " of secular state schools. This document was, in fact, guidance about the religious needs and practices of Muslim parents and pupils that would facilitate their integration into schools. Information and Guidance for Schools and is available as an appendix to the Kershaw Report. Its intentions are clearly set out in the introduction where its states, "its purpose is to promote greater understanding of the faith, religious and cultural needs of Muslim pupils and how they can be accommodated within schools. It also provides useful information and guidance and features of good practice in meeting those needs." The government's Department for Education initially responded to the scandal with lifetime bans against Alam, along with 14 other teachers, from the teaching profession in 2015. However, the bans against Alam and 13 other teachers were eventually overturned, dropped and/or dismissed in courts between 2016 and 2017. In 2017, the academic scholars Therese O'Toole and John Holmwood , who served as an expert witness in the professional misconduct cases, described the Trojan Horse affair as a "false narrative" spread by a hostile British press which led to "a serious miscarriage of justice " against the teachers, drawing comparisons to the Hillsborough affair . The allegations against the teachers were set out in the press and in the Kershaw and Clarke Reports, but the teachers were not able to respond to them as they were placed under confidentiality orders as part of their employment contracts, even after suspension. The first opportunity to put their case would not come until professional misconduct cases were brought against them by the National College of Teaching and Learning (an independent agency of the Department for Education, now replaced by the Teacher Regulation Agency) in October 2015 and dragged on until May 2017 when the case against the senior teachers collapsed because of 'serious improprieties' by the legal team acting for the NCTL. A play about the Trojan Horse Affair and the injustices at its heart by LUNG verbatim theatre group (Helen Monks co-writer, Matt Woodhead co-writer and director) won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2018 and began a national tour in October 2019. Peter Clarke, Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from the ‘Trojan Horse’ letter , July 2014 Wintour, Patrick (18 July 2014). "High court overturns lifetime bans for Trojan horse teachers" . the Guardian .

The Trojan Horse scandal , also known as " Operation Trojan Horse " or the Trojan Horse affair , is a conspiracy theory that posits a plot to introduce an " Islamist " or " Salafist " ethos into several schools in Birmingham , England. The name, based on the Greek legend , comes from an anonymous letter sent to Birmingham City Council in late 2013, alleged to be from Birmingham "Islamists" detailing how to wrest control of a school, and speculating about expanding the scheme to other cities. The letter was leaked to the press in March 2014. Around a month later, Birmingham City Council revealed that following the letter release it had received hundreds of allegations of plots similar to those described in the letter, some claims dating back over 20 years. Tahir Alam, former chairman of the Park View Educational Trust which ran three schools in Birmingham, was alleged to have written a 72-page document for the Muslim Council of Britain in 2007 detailing a blueprint for the " Islamisation " of secular state schools, a claim that has been widely debunked. This document provided guidance about the religious needs and practices of Muslim parents and pupils that would facilitate their integration into schools. Information and Guidance for Schools and is available as an appendix to the Kershaw Report. The introduction of the document states that the "purpose is to promote greater understanding of the faith, religious and cultural needs of Muslim pupils and how they can be accommodated within schools. It also provides useful information and guidance and features of good practice in meeting those needs." The government's Department for Education initially responded to the scandal by banning Alam and 14 other teachers from the teaching profession for life in 2015. Alam remains banned from any involvement with schools, while the bans against 14 other teachers were eventually overturned, dropped and/or dismissed in courts between 2016 and 2017. The allegations against the teachers were set out in the press and in the Kershaw and Clarke Reports. The teachers were barred from responding to the allegations due to confidentiality orders as part of their employment contracts that were binding also after the suspension. The first opportunity to put their case came when professional misconduct cases were brought against them by the National College of Teaching and Learning (an independent agency of the Department for Education, now replaced by the Teaching Regulation Agency ) in October 2015 and May 2017 when the case against the senior teachers collapsed because of "serious improprieties" by the legal team acting for the NCTL. In January 2022, The New York Times released an investigative podcast about the Trojan Horse scandal which characterized it as an "Islamophobic hoax" and compared it to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , a historical antisemitic hoax. In the podcast, the link between the Trojan Horse letter and the Headteacher of Adderley Primary School in Birmingham, Rizwana Darr, is explored and it is alleged that Darr is the real author of the Trojan Horse letter. In December 2022 a report from the conservative pressure group Policy Exchange challenged the findings of the New York Times podcast and suggested that various reports into the matter had uncovered real causes for concern. The report was prefaced with a foreword from Policy Exchange founder Michael Gove , Secretary of State for Education at the time of the scandal, who called The New York Times journalists ‘useful idiots’.

The Trojan Horse scandal , also known as " Operation Trojan Horse " or the Trojan Horse affair , is a conspiracy theory that posits a plot to introduce an " Islamist " or " Salafist " ethos into several schools in Birmingham , England. The name, based on the Greek legend , comes from an anonymous letter sent to Birmingham City Council in late 2013, alleged to be from Birmingham "Islamists" detailing how to wrest control of a school, and speculating about expanding the scheme to other cities. The letter was leaked to the press in March 2014. Around a month later, Birmingham City Council revealed that following the letter release it had received hundreds of allegations of plots similar to those described in the letter, some claims dating back over 20 years. The letter has been characterised as "incomplete, unsigned and unaddressed", but led to two investigations commissioned by the Department for Education and Birmingham City Council, the Clarke and Kershaw Reports, respectively. The reports did not both endorse the idea of "a plot", but point to "behaviour indicative of a concerted attempt to change schools". Tahir Alam, former chairman of the Park View Educational Trust, which ran three schools in Birmingham, was alleged to have written a 72-page document for the Muslim Council of Britain in 2007 detailing a blueprint for the " Islamisation " of secular state schools, a claim that has been widely debunked. This document provided guidance about the religious needs and practices of Muslim parents and pupils that would facilitate their integration into schools. Information and Guidance for Schools and is available as an appendix to the Kershaw Report. The introduction of the document states that the "purpose is to promote greater understanding of the faith, religious and cultural needs of Muslim pupils and how they can be accommodated within schools. It also provides useful information and guidance and features of good practice in meeting those needs." The government's Department for Education initially responded to the scandal by banning Alam and 14 other teachers from the teaching profession for life in 2015. As of 2019, Alam remains banned from any involvement with schools, while the bans against 14 other teachers were eventually overturned, dropped and/or dismissed in courts between 2016 and 2017. The allegations against the teachers were set out in the press and in the Kershaw and Clarke Reports. The teachers were barred from responding to the allegations due to confidentiality orders as part of their employment contracts that were binding also after the suspension. The first opportunity to put their case came when professional misconduct cases were brought against them by the National College of Teaching and Learning (an independent agency of the Department for Education, now replaced by the Teaching Regulation Agency ) in October 2015 and May 2017, when the case against the senior teachers collapsed because of "serious improprieties" by the legal team acting for the NCTL. In January 2022, The New York Times released The Trojan Horse Affair , an investigative podcast about the Trojan Horse scandal which characterized it as an "Islamophobic hoax" and compared it to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion , a historical antisemitic hoax. In the podcast, the link between the Trojan Horse letter and the Headteacher of Adderley Primary School in Birmingham, Rizwana Darr , is explored and it is alleged that Darr is the real author of the Trojan Horse letter. Khalid Mahmood , former Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, contested the podcast as "an act of irresponsibility" and defended Darr as a "successful head teacher". In December 2022 a report from the conservative pressure group Policy Exchange challenged the findings of the New York Times podcast and suggested that various reports into the matter had uncovered real causes for concern. The report was prefaced with a foreword from Policy Exchange founder Michael Gove , Secretary of State for Education at the time of the scandal, who called The New York Times journalists ‘useful idiots’. FORUM for Comprehensive Education . 56 (3). (Review) "Investigation Report: Trojan Horse Letter (The Kershaw Report)" .