Theresa May faces grilling over Muslim extremism letter leak

Theresa May faces a grilling by the Home Affairs Select Committee. Its chairman, Keith Vaz, has already written to the Home Secretary demanding an explanation.

Mrs May’s special adviser, Fiona Cunningham, who resigned over the affair over the weekend, could also be asked to appear before the committee.

Mr Vaz said: “We have conducted two inquiries relating to counter terrorism in the last two years which have emphasised the need for the whole of Government to work together.

“Counter terrorism requires a cohesive strategy. This unseemly row obscures the pressing issue of how to combat radicalism in schools.”

MPs will want to know more about the sequence of events which led to the publication of a letter from Mrs May to Education Secretary Michael Gove raising concerns about the Department for Education’s response to the allegations of a plot by Muslim hard-liners to take over the running of Birmingham schools.

The release of the letter was part of a wider series of briefings, which overshadowed the Queen’s Speech. linked to a clash between the two Ministers over the Government’s approach to tackling extremism.

Comments linked to Mr Gove had earlier appeared in a national newspaper criticising the approach of a key Home Office counter-terror official.

MPs will want to clarify what, if any, role Mrs May played in the publication of her letter to Mr Gove.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We’ve seen the Education Secretary apologise, the special adviser to the Home Secretary resign, but we’ve so far heard nothing from the Home Secretary even though it looks pretty clear that she has breached the ministerial code by writing and then authorising the publication of this letter.”

The Prime Minister had hoped his intervention, which led to Ms Cunningham’s resignation and an apology from Mr Gove, would bring the matter to an end.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said “the Prime Minister has dealt with (it) in a very firm and clear way”.

He told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show that the Prime Minister was “making sure there is team discipline in the Government”.

Ofsted will release reports into 21 schools in Birmingham at the centre of allegations tomorrow, with Mr Gove expected to make a Commons statement giving his response.

Mr Hague said: “The Government will be very robust, very clear about anything that puts children in our schools at risk of extremism, at risk to their safety or to their learning.”

Reports have suggested that five of the 21 schools inspected will be placed into special measures, including two - Oldknow Academy and Park View School - which had been given glowing reports and rated “outstanding” by Ofsted in recent years.

An investigation by the Education Funding Agency into Oldknow Academy found governors had effectively turned it into a faith school, according to reports.

Lawyers for the school - which was rated outstanding by Ofsted last year - are considering a legal challenge to the inspection process.

It has also been reported that Park View School - rated outstanding in 2012 - will also be downgraded to inadequate by Ofsted.

The school is run by the Park View Educational Trust, which has rejected the inspectors’ findings pointing out Ofsted found “no suggestion” of extremism.