Tory Councillor apologises for claiming headscarf wearing councillor received ‘privileged treatment’

The Birmingham Mail reports on a claim of ‘privileged treatment’ made by a senior Conservative councillor and education spokesman for Birmingham City Council, James Hutchings, toward a headscarf-clad Muslim Labour councillor.

At a watchdog committee discussing the Trojan Horse scandal, Hutchings told Councillor Mariam Khan that her mention by name in the minutes of a previous city council committee, amounted to ‘privileged’ treatment and suggested it could be down to her ‘wearing a headscarf’.

He said,

“The only person mentioned by name is you, I don’t know why you were so privileged, perhaps it is because you are the only person wearing a headscarf.”

Councillor Khan replied “I assure you it is probably nothing to do with how I dress or whether or not I wear a headscarf.”

Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services, Councillor Brigid Jones, exclaimed her shock at the remark saying “I want to place on record my astonishment and absolute disgust.”

Later in the meeting, Hutchings backtracked on his comment saying “Let’s be absolutely clear, there was no criticism or prejudice intended.

“It is an absurd misunderstanding and in terms of anything I said which caused that misunderstanding I apologise.”

The Birmingham Mail notes that the committee discussed the effects of the ‘Trojan horse’ scandal on local Muslim communities with research conducted on behalf of the council concluding communities felt “pilloried” for their beliefs.

The paper reports that focus groups conducted in Birmingham found that “many believed the governors [of the ‘Trojan horse schools’] were simply responding to the needs of local Muslims and, even if a number of governors had behaved inappropriately, the response of the media was “grossly disproportionate”.”