'Extremist' row over school funds

A political row has broken out over claims public money was given to two schools which, the Tories say, have links to Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Tory leader David Cameron suggested money from an "anti-extremist fund" had been given to "extremists".

But Schools Secretary Ed Balls accused the Conservatives of "playing politics" and making "untrue" allegations.

Hizb ut-Tahrir said it did not run any school and accused Mr Cameron of "bare-faced lies".
The row began at prime minister's questions on Wednesday when Mr Cameron accused the government of allowing the funding of extremism.

'Anti-extremist fund'

He said two schools had been established by "an extremist Islamist foundation" which he said was a "front" for Hizb ut-Tahrir - a legal organisation that former PM Tony Blair had said he would ban.

Mr Cameron asked Prime Minister Gordon Brown: "How can you have an anti-extremist fund that results in a Labour local authority handing out money to extremists?"

"They have secured a total of £113,000 of government money, some of which was from the Pathfinder scheme, whose objective is meant to be preventing violent extremism."

“ There is no evidence at all of extremist activity, they are inspected, they are properly registered, as far as we are aware they are using public money properly ” Ed Balls Schools secretary

Mr Brown said he would look "very carefully" at the allegations. But later Mr Balls said the Tories were wrong in their claims that the schools had not be inspected by Ofsted and were not registered.

He also said Mr Cameron was wrong to suggest they had been given money from the Pathfinder scheme.

He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that both Slough and Haringey local authorities, where the schools are based, had told him "categorically" that "the only funding they've received is for the care of three and four year old nursery care".

He said both were inspected at his request in 2007 when concerns were first raised and were "registered on a publicly available website".

'Genuinely worrying'

He added: "There is no evidence at all of extremist activity, they are inspected, they are properly registered, as far as we are aware they are using public money properly."

He said: "I think David Cameron and [shadow schools secretary] Michael Gove have made a massive misjudgement today... to play politics when you don't know the facts is a very very dangerous thing to do and I think that's what they've done today."

But Mr Gove told the BBC: "We know that they have received public funding and we know that the charity concerned has links with Hizb ut-Tahrir."

He added: "It seems to be genuinely worrying."

Haringey Council said it launched an investigation into claims about the school in its area on 26 October and funding had been suspended pending the outcome.

“ Our school is being used as part of a wider political agenda and this type of vilification of the Muslim community needs to stop ” Farah Ahmed Head teacher

But a spokesman said "no evidence was found to suggest inappropriate content or influence in the school" and it had told them "that it no longer has any links with any of the individuals who are alleged to have connections with Hizb ut-Tahrir".

"We are waiting for evidence from the school that the reported connections have been completely severed," he said.

Meanwhile the head teacher of the school in Slough, Farah Ahmed, said: "Our school is being used as part of a wider political agenda and this type of vilification of the Muslim community needs to stop."

She added: "We would expect politicians to check the accuracy of the information they receive before using it. No-one from the Conservative Party has contacted the school to verify information."

In 2005 Tony Blair suggested he would ban the Islamist organisation, but later dropped the idea.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Sunni political party whose goal is to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, ruled by Islamic law and with a caliph head of state elected by Muslims.Its anti-Semitism has resulted in the group being banned in Germany and on some British university campuses....

The group denies links to terrorism and says it opposes violence, but does campaign for an Islamic state across the Middle East.

In a statement it accused Mr Cameron of "baseless allegations" and said it never accepted funding from government.

Spokesman Taji Mustafa said it was a political party that did not run schools, adding: "David Cameron's bare faced lies that Hizb ut-Tahrir runs schools, receives government funding and promotes hatred and violence are another desperate attempt to boost Conservative poll ratings."

In the Commons the Conservative leader also asked Mr Brown why the group had not been banned. Mr Brown said that "proscription should be on the basis of evidence, that was clearly proven, about advocating violence".

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