A British teacher was sacked from Preston College over supposed “Islamophobia” after criticising the jailing of a mother for social media posts amid last year’s anti-mass migration riots.
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher Simon Pearson has revealed that he was fired from his position at Preston College after a complaint was filed with the school by a Muslim representative of the National Education Union (NEU), The Telegraph reported.
The complaint stemmed from posts on Facebook in which Pearson decried the “two-tier policing” evident in the jailing of 42-year-old mother Lucy Connolly for writing on social media in the wake of the Southport mass stabbing: “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the fucking hotels full of the bastards for all I care, while you’re at it, take the treacherous government politicians with them.”
Despite quickly deleting the comments, Connolly was sentenced to 31 months in prison. Addressing the issue, Pearson said that while her statement was “obviously wrong”, he felt that she “should not have been jailed”.
Pearson compared Connolly’s case with the frequent genocidal calls seen at anti-Israel demonstrations in Britain and the failure of authorities to jail a Labour councillor after allegedly encouraging violent disorder by saying that “fascists” should have their throats cut at a protest. Pearson also lamented the numerous Islamist terror attacks in Britain and called for the deportation of those involved in the assault on police at Manchester Airport last year.
His comments were flagged to the college by a Muslim NEU representative at the school, who alleged they were “Islamophobic” and “racially discriminatory”. The school found that they violated its policies and had the potential to damage the school’s reputation and therefore fired Pearson.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Pearson said: “I am appalled by the way I’ve been treated. I’ve dedicated my life to education and to supporting students from all walks of life.
“Yet as soon as I was branded ‘Islamophobic’ for expressing concern about violent crime, I became a marked man. It was clear that I had to be found guilty by the college, it became a witch hunt, and I had to be eliminated no matter what.”
The former teacher said that he has initiated legal action against his firing at an employment tribunal, claiming wrongful dismissal and violations of the Equality Act.
“I am determined to fight for justice and for the freedom to raise legitimate concerns in public and private as part of national debates on extremely serious issues that impact us all,” he said.
Pearson is being supported in his case by the Christian Legal Centre, which claimed that it demonstrated the “consequences of the vague and weaponised use of the term ‘Islamophobia’.”
“The definition of Islamophobia is being used to silence legitimate speech and punish those who dare to speak out. We stand firmly behind this teacher and his right to freedom of expression,” the group added.
The governing left-wing Labour Party in Britain has long advocated for Islamophobia to be enshrined into law, which critics have warned would represent a “backdoor blasphemy” law being instituted.
As a party, Labour has already officially adopted the definition set out by the All-Party Parliamentary Group in 2018. Among “classic” examples of supposed Islamophobia, the APPG included “Muhammed being a paedophile, claims of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword or subjugating minority groups under their rule.”
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