Teacher at centre of LGBT row in Birmingham received death threat
Written by News on 09/04/2019
The teacher at the centre of the row over LGBT lessons has told Sky News he received a death threat and has been given advice from police about how he travels to and from school.
Andrew Moffat, the assistant head teacher at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, wrote the No Outsiders programme that is used to teach diversity and equality in some schools.
Protests by mainly Muslim parents who object to their children learning about same-sex relationships have now spread from Parkfield to other schools in Birmingham and beyond.
Mr Moffat told Sky News: “I had a message saying, ‘You won’t last long’. There’s been some very difficult messages to receive.”
He rejects claims by protesters that his teaching is “intolerant” of their religion because he tells children it’s OK to be gay.
“I would say that I am very clearly following British law,” he said.
“The equality act is very clear that you can have different race, religion, disability and sexual orientation. We can’t pick and choose bits of the equality act that we are comfortable with.”
Many protesters hold banners that read “Let kids be kids” and claim the lessons aren’t age-appropriate but Mr Moffat disagreed with their complaint.
“You just read a story and there’s stories where people are different and different families,” he said, adding: “There is no reference to sexual acts in No Outsiders.
“There are no books where there are bodies or bedrooms. No Outsiders is about community cohesion and just because you mention sometimes about LGBT people doesn’t mean that it’s about sex.”
Amir Ahmed, who helps lead the protests outside Parkfield School, told Sky News: “It’s a programme that is intolerant of the community’s family values.
“It ignores them and gives no consideration to the children’s background.
“This is converting children with a heterosexual background towards believing that homosexuality is fine… That’s socially divisive because it’s changing the moral position of family values.”
Mr Moffat, who is gay, dismissed the protesters’ claims that he is teaching children to be gay.
“You can’t teach someone to be gay. You just are or you aren’t,” he said.
The No Outsiders lessons have been suspended at Parkfield and several other schools while teachers consult with parents but Mr Moffat is hopeful they will start up again.
“I’m full of confidence that we can resolve it,” he said, optimistic that talks with parents could resolve the problem.
(c) Sky News 2019: Teacher at centre of LGBT row in Birmingham received death threat
