Call for publication on ex-Trojan Horse school governors chairman ruling

He was issued with a ban by the Department for Education (DfE)

A former Liberal Democrat MP has called for a tribunal ruling relating to a former chairman of governors at a Birmingham school which was embroiled in an alleged “Trojan Horse” Muslim takeover plot to be published.

Tahir Alam was chairman of governors at Park View School in Alum Rock, Birmingham, from 1997 to 2014, and chairman of a trust set up to manage the school.

He was issued with a ban by the Department for Education (DfE) in September 2015 after officials concluded he had engaged in conduct aimed at undermining fundamental British values.

Mr Alam challenged the ban at a specialist tribunal hearing in London in March. A three-strong care standards tribunal panel had reserved a ruling after analysing evidence.

The panel has not made its decision or detailed ruling publicly available.

But a DfE spokesman said on Wednesday the panel had upheld the DfE decision and ruled against Mr Alam.

Former Birmingham MP John Hemming says the tribunal oversaw a hearing in public and should make its ruling public.

“How can ‘judges’ oversee a public hearing but not make their ruling public?” said Mr Hemming, MP for Birmingham Yardley between 2005 and 2015.

“This is clearly a matter of great public interest and importance.

“The general public - let alone teenagers, parents, teachers, social workers and religious leaders - have a right to know why the tribunal came to the decision they came to, who they criticised and didn’t criticise and how the evaluated the evidence they heard.

“And what reason can there be for the ruling not being published? There’s a website - the British and Irish Legal Information Institute website - which has been set up for the publication of judgments.

“Eight months have passed since the hearing.

“The ruling should be published straight away.”

He added: “They have not even explained the reasons why they are not publishing the judgment.

“The justice system is accountable both through the appellate system, but also through explaining to the public why things are being done the way that they are.

“This is supposed to be a ‘constitutional principle’, but it is one that is easily forgotten.”

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