Croydon Catholic school closes due to strike over LGBT book talk

Teachers at a Catholic school have gone on strike over the cancellation of a talk by a children’s author whose books feature gay characters.

Governors of the John Fisher School in Purley, Croydon, in south London, voted not to cancel Simon James Green’s visit, contrary to the Archdiocese of Southwark’s recommendation.

Two governors subsequently resigned and the archdiocese sacked the rest, according to an Ofsted report.

Staff shortages have closed the school.

Southwark archdiocese revealed on Thursday it had written to Ofsted asking it to review the report which it says had “inaccuracies” and contained “evidence appearing to be drawn solely from media reports”.

In a statement, it said: “Respect for the God-given dignity of each human life sits at the heart of Catholic education and respect is a two-way street.

“Literature that insults the faith, which in the case of Mr Green’s book was a highly sexualised rewriting of the Lord’s Prayer, understandably causes offence to many Christians, and as such has no place in a Catholic school.”

National Education Union (NEU) members started industrial action on Thursday morning with about 40 people outside the school gates.

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