UKIP Councillor tells residents not to be hostile toward Muslim school

Cllr Paul Godier

A UKIP Councillor in Portsmouth has welcomed an open day being organised by a new Muslim school in the city and said that people shouldn't be hostile towards it.

Cllr Paul Godier said:

No-one has the right to be hostile. I think we need a bit more education about what is going to be put there and what will be on offer. What I see of it is that it’s a school, an educational establishment. There’s news all over the place that these type of schools are struggling, but that’s the same with any school now. If it’s offering something a bit more than we should be welcoming it, as long as it fits in with the community.

Last year saw protests by the EDL and a pig's head left on a spike outside the school's back gates. The school lists disgraced Lib Dem MP, Mike Hancock, as one of its patrons although they may have ditched him since he admitted having an "inappropriate and unprofessional" relationship with a mentally ill teenager.