Gavin Williamson has condemned parents’ protests against children being shown a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in class as “completely unacceptable”.
Batley Grammar School has closed and parents have gathered outside for a second day to complain about the image, which parents said was from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The non-selective school in West Yorkshire has apologised over the “inappropriate” image, shown during a religious studies lesson this week, and suspended a teacher.
Video film shows people gathered around the school gates amid shouts of “get the head teacher”, although police confirmed that there had been no arrests or fines issued for breaches of the coronavirus restrictions.
The education secretary intervened last night. A spokesman for the Department for Education (DfE) said:
