Heard the one about the kid in Lancashire whose family received a visit from the police, carrying out their duties under Prevent, as the result of a simple spelling mistake? The boy had written that he lived in a “terrorist house”, when he meant to write “terraced house”.
The story was reported throughout the world.
The Muslim Council of Britain, who may have been the organisation pushing the story of this outrage in the first place, was quoted widely in the press. The finger was pointed firmly in the direction of the Government, and the Prevent policy:
“Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said he was aware of dozens of similar cases.
“There are huge concerns that individuals going about their daily life are being seen through the lens of security and are being seen as potential terrorists rather than students.
“This is a natural consequence of the extension of the ‘Prevent Duty’ to schools,” he said in reference to the government’s anti-terrorism strategy”
This morning we discover, as we knew that we would, that the story was bollocks. Here’s really what happened.
The boy had produced a piece of schoolwork, in which he wrote “I hate it when my uncle beats me”. The piece was, apparently, a series of questions and answers about an imaginary character called “Cheeky Charlie”.
Because the boy had written about being beaten, the school referred the matter to the social workers, who attended the house to investigate with the local beat officer. Social services were satisfied that the boy wasn’t in danger, and no further action was taken.
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Lancashire, Clive Grunshaw, issued a damning statement on the way the story had been reported and said he had “written to the BBC”, which laterupdated its original article online.
“A report wrongly claimed a family was interrogated as potential terrorists due to a spelling error in a boy’s homework,” he said.
“The facts are that a young person disclosed a worrying issue in his school work – not just that he lived in a “terrorist house” – and this was reported through the appropriate channels and subsequently a visit was undertaken by a neighbourhood police officer and a social worker.”
He added: “In the event there was no further action needed, but if the school and police had not acted then they would have been failing in their duty to respond to concerns.”
Mr Grunshaw later tweeted that the BBC had “set the record straight”.
Can you imagine the outcry that would have followed the death or serious injury of a child, who had written about being beaten at home, if no visit had been made?
Bullshit spreads like wildfire.
