It all began with a minor playground argument between four Muslim pupils. The head told one of the pupils that everyone should try to get on together, and mentioned the Crusades against the Muslims and attitudes towards Muslims today, as an indication of what hostility can do.

It was a mistake to talk about such complicated subjects to young children, and the head says that he has apologised for any possible offence caused.

That should have been the end of the matter. But a letter from the parents of one of the boys denounced the head for "speaking in an incendiary manner". It accusedhim of "acting with complete disregard for the psychological and emotional welfare of a pupil under his care".

I hope the boy never has to cope with any greater crisis during his lifetime. The matter then escalated, from the parents' complaint,
through to the school's governors, then its complaints panel, and ultimately to an investigation and full review by Education Leeds, the quango which runs the city's schools.

The police also became involved and investigated the family's complaint but found that no criminal act had been committed and they recommended mediation, which the family refused.

Deploying all her reserves of gobbledygook, the quango's
"school improvement chief" ordered the head to "review his language" and "take ownership of his serious error".

The quango then went into overdrive, organising even more race equality work, on top of the two sessions every member of the staff had already been through, including one with a specific focus on "dealing with incidents involving racial or religious name-calling". The head has been humiliated by being ordered to undergo more race and equality training.

Can you think of a better way for poisoning the atmosphere of a decent school, and crucifying a dedicated teacher just trying to do his best?

As, if this were not bad enough, the people who run Yorkshire Television's Calendar programme decided to
re-ignite it by interviewing the mother of the child concerned.

She was filmed in darkness, with her face obscured, as if she were a witness in some Mafia trial. On what grounds was this done? We heard demands that the headteacher should not merely be reprimanded or suspended, but "driven out of teaching altogether".

A trivial incident in a playground at the end of last year has thus been blown up and given a new lease of life. Why should they submit themselves to humiliation and mindless hostility?



AT the behest of Brussels, Britain is embarking on a £100bn plan for wind farms – thousands of turbines, 7,000 offshore and another 3,500 across the countryside. To meet the EU's target, we would have to build at least 30,000 turbines.

What are the reasons for this lunacy? The answer is simple. Big developers are reaping millions of pounds in profits. The money is guaranteed: the turbines are given an enormous public subsidy
because the electricity companiesare forced to buy the energy at twice the usual price. The extra cost is then passed on to the customer.

They are encouraged in their profiteering by green propagandists like Friends of the Earth who wallow in economic ignorance
and also spread scare stories about nuclear power.

I have mentioned before a group of turbines on the moors not far from Bolton Abbey. I have never yet seen them turning at anything like full capacity. More often than not, they are standing still or turning
over lazily.

Far from being a guaranteed source of "free" energy, they are a waste of space because traditional coal-fired power stations are having to remain on standby to back them up.

One of the biggest electricity companies admits that the back-up needed for new wind turbines would amount to 90 per cent of capacity from gas-fired and coal-fired power stations.

This will mean building dozens more of these traditional power stations to provide continuous supply when the turbines are not producing enough electricity. If local residents try to object, the big wind farm companies swing into action. Even, in one case, paying the expenses for pro-wind farm activists to travel down and set up stalls in town centres, encouraging people to write letters of support.

When local councils turn down wind farms, they find themselves overruled by Whitehall. The whole business is a massive scam.