Teacher banned for remarks about 'satanic Ukrainian Nazis' and trans people

Teacher banned for remarks about 'satanic Ukrainian Nazis' and trans people William Garwood made the comments to a Year 11 history class at St Mary’s Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy in West Yorkshire in October 2023, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard A teacher who told pupils that “Ukrainians are Nazis” and “gay and transgender people are mentally ill” has been banned from the profession. William Garwood told the misconduct investigation into his comments that he was entitled to his religious belief in Islam and to the philosophical belief of anti-Nazism. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel investigating his conduct heard that a pupil at St Mary’s Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy where Mr Garwood taught asked him “are there any just wars?” during a Year 11 history lesson, to which he replied: “Yes.” According to a child in the class, referred to as Pupil A, Mr Garwood said he was “happy” that Russian President Vladimir Putin was killing “satanic Nazis” in Ukraine and that the world was run by billionaires who created “evil Ukrainians”. Russia has previously said that Ukraine’s government is heavily influenced by radical nationalist and neo-Nazi groups, an allegation derided by Kyiv and its western allies. The TRA found that Mr Garwood’s comments amounted to justification of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in front of pupils. During the same class in October 2023, the teacher, aged 60, also made comments to the effect that “gay and transgender people are mentally ill”, it was found. In his evidence, Mr Garwood said that his Islamic stance on transgender issues, which he believed also “coincided with traditional British values”, had been used to “assert that he was a psychological threat to children’s wellbeing”, and that this was then used to “emotionally manipulate safeguarding professionals”, the panel wrote. Mr Garwood said that he did not give an opinion on gay people “but asserted that he is a Muslim and that this position is known, and that students misinterpreted this and formed a false caricature of him”, the TRA said. The teacher also said that he considered he was “entitled to his religious belief in Islam and to the philosophical belief of anti-Nazism” under Section 10 of the Equality Act 2010, the panel heard. He added that the TRA’s investigation “represented a political reaction” to his comments, which he said “reflect a legitimate difference of opinion”. But the panel said that it “considered the comments made by Mr Garwood to be clearly inappropriate and wholly unrelated to the subject matter of the lesson on the history of Nazi Germany”. It went on: “The panel noted that the remarks involved a significant and highly subjective value judgment, which had no relevance to the curriculum content being delivered. “Even if there had been some contextual link, the terminology used would not have been acceptable. “In particular, the panel highlighted that the statement amounted to an impermissible generalisation, effectively labelling Ukrainians as evil or Nazis, which was inappropriate. “Further, the panel expressed concern about the use of inappropriate labels directed at individuals or groups, particularly in a classroom setting. “The panel also considered the comments relating to homosexuality and transgender people to be especially problematic given their potential impact on school-aged children, noting that this subject matter is one of common public discussion and sensitivity. “The panel also considered that the comments were not only out of line with the educational purpose of the lesson but were also delivered without any attempt to provide balance or explore alternative perspectives. “As such, the panel concluded that the conduct was clearly inappropriate and significantly outside the bounds of acceptable teaching practice.” The TRA also found that Mr Garwood’s comments about Ukrainians and gay and transgender people “fell within the scope of discriminatory behaviour”. Mr Garwood cannot apply for the banning order to be set aside until June 2032.