Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad had previously been shown to pupils at a school that suspended its teacher after protests over a lesson, parents said yesterday.
More than 13,000 people had signed a petition last night demanding the reinstatement of the teacher who used the caricature. Some families said he had been scapegoated over the issue. The petition was set up by pupils of Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire, which has closed and switched to online learning.
A second day of protests took place outside the school yesterday as Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, criticised the demonstrations and said it was “very disturbing” that the teacher was now in hiding. Gavin Williamson’s education department had previously said that such protests were “completely unacceptable”.
The
