A teacher has been given a lifetime teaching ban after he chased three boys of 10, 11, and 12, in his car and slit their bike tyres with a Stanley knife after they verbally abused him.
Adam Walker, a teacher at Houghton Kepier School, Tyne and Wear, was initially banned from the profession for two years by the National College for Teaching and Leadership, but their decision was overruled by the Secretary of State for Education who slapped a lifetime disqualification on him.
Walker, from County Durham, says he accepts his behaviour was wrong, but claims he is being punished because of his political beliefs. He is a supporter of the BNP.
The Secretary of State's office said that Walker's convictions involved threatening behaviour and criminal damage and were of a serious nature and aimed at children. They concluded that the 'reputation of the profession would be seriously damaged' if Walker was allowed to teach again.
He told his local paper that the Secretary of State 'clearly' had an axe to grind.
"I was dealt with first by the courts, then the teaching council, and accepted their decisions, but the Secretary of State has overruled all that," he said. "When I compare the punishments given to other teachers, including proven paedophiles and the like, what's happened to me seems totally disproportionate."
Walker, who had been teaching for 20 years and ran a karate club, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence and a 12 month driving ban after his appearance at Durham Crown court following the incident at a St George's day fun day in 2011.