Latest news with #Preston College
Telegraph
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
You can be anything in Britain but a white Christian male
Simon Pearson, the English for Speakers of Other Languages (Esol) teacher accused of Islamophobia who was sacked for saying that Lucy Connolly was a victim of two-tier justice, has said that believes he would still be in a job if he had been accused of offending Christians and not Muslims. Pearson's thirty-year career as a teacher was left in tatters when a disciplinary process – triggered by a complaint from a Muslim representative of the National Education Union (NEU) – found he had risked bringing his employer, Preston College, into disrepute. It is clear to me that Pearson's social media posts were not directly anti-Muslim in nature, meaning that any accusation of Islamophobia was highly questionable. But Pearson has raised a rather interesting point which taps into the notion of us being a two-tier society – has the secularised liberal mainstream grown more relaxed over offending, if not punishing, practising Christians in modern Britain? As a social conservative of Bangladeshi Muslim origin, there is no doubt in my mind that Britain is a land of considerable religious freedoms – for its minorities of faith. We have seen multiple religious-minority political leaders – from former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak to former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf – confidently express their commitment to Hinduism and Islam respectively. This includes Sunak lighting candles outside No 10 for Diwali and Yousaf organising an Islamic call to prayer in Bute House during Ramadan. More generally, British Muslims – the fastest-growing faith grouping of notability in the UK – are afforded considerable forms of accommodation. A report published last year found that more than four in five British Muslim respondents (83 per cent) believed that when compared to other European countries such as France, Germany, and the Netherlands, the UK is a better place for Muslims to be able to practise their faith whilst being involved in wider public life. I am not so sure that the figure would be quite so high if practising Christians had been surveyed. There is a litany of examples of Christian public figures being hounded for their views. This includes former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who resigned from the position after saying that living as a Christian while fulfilling his political role 'felt impossible', believing that devout Christians are seen as 'dangerous' and 'offensive' in modern Britain. Kate Forbes, who ran in the SNP leadership contest alongside eventual victor Humza Yousaf, was pilloried by some quarters over her authentically Christian positions on gay marriage, abortion, and having children out of wedlock – stances that most Muslims would share and be able to express without facing a major backlash. Outside of politics, we have recently seen an army veteran – Adam Smith-Connor – be handed a conviction after praying silently outside an abortion clinic for his own unborn son. If modern Britain was truly confident in its own religious diversity, practising Christians in public office would be treated with the same level of respect and decency as their counterparts belonging to religious minorities. The evidence suggests that we are not in this place. In fact, in the secular multicultural age, Christians are more likely to be treated as 'fair game' for being attacked for their religious beliefs, while minorities of faith tend to be given far more leeway – especially increasingly confident and assertive ethnic-minority Muslims. The reality is that white-British, middle-aged, Christian men such as Farron, Pearson, and Smith-Connor, do not rank highly on the intersectionality scoreboard, while Forbes was caricatured as a traitor to the 'feminist' cause. A genuinely successful multi-faith democracy is one where religious freedom is enjoyed equally across the faiths. The experiences of practising Christians suggest that we are not in such a place.
The Sun
04-08-2025
- The Sun
Teacher branded ‘Islamaphobic' and SACKED after describing Lucy Connolly's prison sentence as ‘two-tier policing'
A TEACHER who was branded "Islamophobic" has been sacked after saying Lucy Connolly's prison sentence was 'two-tier policing'. Simon Pearson taught English to foreign language students at Preston College in Lancashire. 4 4 4 The 56-year-old was removed following an internal investigation after posting about Connolly - who was handed a 31-month sentence for inciting racial hatred in a social media post following last year's Southport riots. Simon described Connolly's post as "obviously wrong" but went on to say her imprisonment was "two tier policy from the top down". He was dismissed after a complaint from a Muslim rep of the NEU accused him of being 'Islamophobic' and 'racially discriminatory'. The teacher said he apologised and claimed to have provided evidence of his support for both Muslim students and asylum seekers. But it was found that the posts were a violation of the college's policies, damaging of professional relationships and likely to bring the college's reputation into disrepute. Simon has now started legal action, which has been filed at an employment tribunal, with claims of wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal, harassment, and discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. He told The Telegraph: 'I am appalled by the way I've been treated. I've dedicated my life to education and to supporting students from all walks of life. 'Yet as soon as I was branded 'Islamophobic' for expressing concern about violent crime, I became a marked man. "It was clear that I had to be found guilty by the college, it became a witch hunt, and I had to be eliminated no matter what.' Lucy Connolly, 41, was sent to prison for 31 months in October after being found guilty of inciting racial hatred. She will go free from HMP Peterborough in August having served 40 per cent of her term, The Sun understands. Her tweet, which was viewed more than 300,000 times before she deleted it, said: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f* hotels full of the b** for all I care… if that makes me racist so be it.' It had been prompted by false rumours that the suspect behind the murder of three girls at a dance class in Southport was an illegal immigrant. Connolly, from Northampton, the wife of a former Tory councillor, lost an appeal to reduce her sentence in May. Nigel Farage has previously called for her release and called her jail term 'absolutely excessive'. But Sir Keir Starmer has defended the sentence, saying he would 'always support' the UK court system. A spokesperson for the NEU said: "The management of Preston College reached a decision to dismiss the teacher following disciplinary procedures. "The NEU was not directly involved in these processes and it will be for the Employment Tribunal to consider the fairness of the dismissal if and when the claim reaches a hearing." 4
