Report: 'Islamic principles promoted in Trojan schools'

The leader of Birmingham City Council has accepted that the authority had "shied away" from dealing with governance issues in a number of east Birmingham schools "out of a misguided fear of being accused of racism".

Sir Albert Bore said despite having issues raised to the council and the Department for Education since 2007, "opportunities to pull together an overview of what was happening in east Birmingham were missed".

Ian Kershaw's review into schools accused of promoting radical Islam found "no evidence of a conspiracy to promote an anti-British agenda, violent extremism or radicalisation in schools in east Birmingham".

Governors, deputy and acting headteachers, trustees and parents were involved in a pattern of behaviour "moving between schools" in Birmingham, an inquiry into alleged 'Trojan Horse' schools has found.

In a 151-page report for Birmingham City Council, Ian Kershaw concluded: "The evidence shows individuals have been seeking to promote and encourage Islamic principles in the schools with which they are involved, by seeking to introduce Islamic collective worship, or raising objections to elements of the school curriculum that are viewed as anti-Islamic."

Mr Kershaw's report said the problems had been allowed to run "unchecked" due to what he branded "weaknesses in the system and poor oversight of governance" mainly by the city council, but also by Ofsted, the Education Funding Agency and the DfE.

Key individuals were "promoting and encouraging certain Islamic principles" in classrooms amid "poor oversight" from education officials, a Birmingham City Council report into the alleged "Trojan Horse" takeover plot has concluded.