What is the Birmingham LGBT row and why have demonstrators been banned from outside Anderton Park Primary School?
ANDERTON Park Primary school has been at the centre of protests by parents angry about LGBT teaching.
Here’s what you need to know about the dispute and why Birmingham City Council has been granted a High Court injunction to stop protests.
What is the Birmingham LGBT row?
Parents have protested outside schools and taken kids out of classes after they claimed their children were being “brainwashed” about gay lifestyles.
The protests began at the Parkfield Community School, where parents voiced their opposition to the “No Outsiders” programme to educate kids about same-sex relationships.
Muslim parents said they did not want their children to take part in the programme, which was created by gay assistant head Andrew Moffat in 2014.
The protests then spread to Anderton Park and are being led by Shakeel Afsar - who doesn't even send his kids to the school.
He accuses teachers of using "children as pawns" and "over-emphasising a gay ethos".
In May he was given a legal warning not to interfere with the running of the school.
In heated scenes, Labour MP Jess Phillips accused him of damaging the reputation of Birmingham’s “peaceful and loving” Muslim community with his campaign against the school.
Why have demonstrators been banned from outside Anderton Park Primary School?
Birmingham City Council made the application following several weeks of protests outside the school.
Demonstrators have continued to gather outside the school in Dennis Road despite criticism from authorities including the council and police.
On May 24, 600 pupils were sent home for their own safety after anti-LGBT protesters stormed the school.
Headteacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson was forced to close Anderton Park Primary for the day after protests "escalated significantly" over the previous week.
Counter-protesters were pelted with eggs on Sunday, while Ms Hewitt Clarkson was bombarded with death threats.
She announced the site would close for summer half term early over safety fears.
The interim injunction protects "the area immediately surrounding Anderton Park Primary School from further protests of the kind that have been held in the street outside the school for the last few weeks", the council said.
What's the latest?
On July 9, 2019, parents arrived at the gates of Parkfield School in Alum Rock to protest against LGBT lessons in school.
MOST READ IN NEWS
A gathering, led by parents' spokesman Jay Hussain, said they would do "everything lawful" to stop the school sharing storybooks and lessons about gay relationships, claiming the school is "not respecting our religious beliefs".
They said pupils would be withdrawn from the school on July 10 to showcase their feeling that the school leadership has let down parents.
And they warned that if the school did not back down they would also seek to drive out Andrew Moffatt, the school's assistant head and originator of No Outsiders.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.