THE Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, has been
appointed to a panel set up by Birmingham City Council to review
allegations of an organised plan by Islamic extremists to recruit
sympathisers to teaching staff and governing bodies of several of
the city's schools (News, 25 April).
The panel meets for the first time today.
Other members of the panel are Liam Byrne, MP for Birmingham
Hodge Hill; Gary Forsyth, Assistant Chief Constable of West
Midlands Police; Kamal Harif, head of Waverley Primary School and a
national leader in education; and a representative of Birmingham
Central Mosque.
The review will be chaired by Stephen Rimmer, West Midlands
director for the Preventing Violence Against Vulnerable People
initiative. Mr Rimmer is on secondment from the Home Office.
Ian Kershaw, the former head of a Coventry comprehensive who has
worked with Birmingham schools on education strategy, has been
appointed adviser to the investigation.
The charges, which have been referred to as "Trojan horse"
allegations, are disputed, and have led to a number of claims. This
week, the Council set up a confidential phone line for potential
complainants.