Jess Phillips, a parliament member representing a Birmingham area, said parents protesting outside schools in the city should be banned from a certain perimeter of the education properties.
“They shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the schools. These are people with a religious extremist agenda. They are holding schools under siege,” she said.
However, parents, scores of them non-Muslims, have continued to hold demonstrations outside schools in Birmingham, Manchester, Blackpool, Preston, Bradford and Liverpool. Popular chants heard during the protests are “Let kids be kids,” and “Our kids, our choice” while parents carry banners and placards with various signs reminding the lessons are immoral.
“This is about morality. We have our own religious beliefs and they need to be respected,” said Shebby Gujjar Khan, a leading campaigner for banning the lessons in schools in Manchester.