The headteacher at a school which won a High Court battle over its ban on prayer rituals has questioned why the Muslim pupil received ‘£150,000 in legal aid’ to fight her case – and fears the family may launch further action.
In a ruling on Tuesday, a judge dismissed the Muslim student’s case against Michaela Community School’s prayer policy.
The pupil – who cannot be named for legal reasons – had claimed the north London free school’s stance on prayer rituals was discriminatory, but Mr Justice Linden ruled it did not interfere with her rights to religious freedom.
In a lengthy statement issued after the ruling, Katharine Birbalsingh, the founder and headteacher of the school – once dubbed Britain’s strictest – defended its approach.
She also asked: ‘Can it be right for a family to receive £150,000 of taxpayer-funded legal aid to bring a case like this? She claimed the pupil’s mother, who helped her daughter bring the case, intended to send another child to the school.
Ms Birbalsingh alleged: ‘At the same time, this mum has sent a letter to our lawyers suggesting that she may take us to court yet again over another issue at the school she doesn’t like, presumably once again at the taxpayer’s expense.’
A representative for the family said the figure included in Ms Birbalsingh’s statement was incorrect, https://bangcacloai.com/ with the pupil’s capped legal aid costs being lower than that sum. The representative did not comment on the suggestion of further legal action.
The school’s headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh has questioned why the Muslim pupil was given ‘£150,000 in legal aid’
The pupil took legal action against Michaela Community School in Brent, North London
They highlighted that the judge had said the case ‘raises issues of genuine public interest in circumstances where the school’s approach has come into conflict with the religious perspective of an important section of society’.