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We need calm, says veil-row council leader
John Roberts The leader of a Yorkshire council which suspended a Muslim classroom assistant for wearing a veil has issued an appeal for calm following a week of intense scrutiny.
The suspension and tribunal of Aishah Azmi from Headfield Church of England Junior School, in Dewsbury sparked a national debate on the wearing of veils, with politicians, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, having their say.
Mrs Azmi, 23, of Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury, lost her tribunal case against Kirklees Council after claiming it religiously discriminated aga-inst her. But she won 1,000 compensation from the council for being victimised.
Now Kirklees Council leader Coun Robert Light has appealed for the school to be allowed to return to normal to focus on educating children. He said: "Over the last week this issue has seen a totally disproportionate level of media coverage, reactions from politicians at the highest level of government and intense debate on a national scale.
"Now that the judgment has been made I hope that the school can be allowed to get back to normal and concentrate on its primary role, which is providing the best education for the children. That is what our priority has been throughout this case, and still remains so.
"While I acknowledge that most of the opinions expr-essed both locally and nationally...have been supportive of the actions taken by the school and the council, it is now time to draw a line under this particular chapter of the issue.
"The council will study all aspects of the tribunal judgment in detail, including the elements where its handling of grievance procedural issues led to the modest financial award to Mrs Azmi by the tribunal."
Leader of the Commons Jack Straw started the veil debate when he revealed that he asked women to remove their full face veils when visiting his MP surgeries.
Coun Light said: "For this issue to continue in a high-profile national spotlight is not in the interests of the school or the local community. We need to let things calm down and enable people to reflect on what has been an unprecedented few days of intense attention... "
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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