'Trojan Horse' Claims Chairman Given Schools Ban

'Trojan Horse' Claims Chairman Given Schools Ban

The former chairman of the education trust at the centre of the alleged "Trojan Horse" Muslim takeover plot in Birmingham has been banned from any involvement with schools, according to reports.

The Guardian said Tahir Alam has become the first person to be issued with the blanket ban by the Department for Education (DfE), which accused him of "undermining the fundamental British values".

Mr Alam, who resigned as chairman of governors at the Park View Educational Trust at the height of the scandal, said he intended to appeal the decision.

The trust had been the focus of allegations made in the anonymous Trojan Horse letter, which came to light in late 2013 and triggered several inquiries into an alleged plot by hardline Muslims to seize control of a number of school governing boards.

Mr Alam has always denied any wrongdoing and branded the DfE's claims against him "nonsensical".

He told the Guardian: "I have the dubious honour of being the first person to be issued with a ban of this kind by the (Department for Education) preventing me from taking part in the management of schools.

"I did my job as a governor, as a volunteer, and I did it very well in collaboration with others. I helped transform these schools into successful schools and stand by my work there.

"All the allegations against me have been put forward on the basis of hearsay and I strongly contest them."

In a letter passed to the newspaper, Mr Alam was accused of putting pupils "at risk of vulnerability to radicalisation, promoted intolerance of difference and diversity and restricted their life chances by failing to provide pupils with the necessary learning and skills to flourish in modern, multicultural Britain."

The paper added the letter states any school employing Mr Alam in a management capacity, either paid or unpaid, would be shut down, while the DfE have rejected his 11-page rebuttal.

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