Suella Braverman wades into row after pupils suspended over ‘slight damage’ to a copy of the Quran 

The Home Secretary has waded into the blasphemy controversy surrounding a West Yorkshire school, saying: “No one can demand respect for their belief system, even if it is a religion.”

Kettlethorpe Secondary School in Wakefield found itself in the spotlight after a 14-year-old boy with autism accidentally dropped a copy of the Quran, causing it to rub.

The incident was investigated by West Yorkshire Police as a possible hate crime, while four children involved in the incident have been suspended.

Suella Braverman KC has stated that the UK has no blasphemy laws and that everyone must respect their ‘absolute’ freedom of expression and pluralism, reports The Times.

She wrote: ‘The education sector and the police have a duty to prioritize the physical safety of children over the hurt feelings of adults. Schools are accountable to students and parents. They don’t have to answer to self-proclaimed community activists.’

Suella Braverman KC has stated that the UK has no blasphemy laws and that everyone should respect the UK’s “absolute” free speech and pluralism.

Ms Braverman described a community meeting filmed after the incident as “more akin to a sharia law trial”.

He added: ‘There is no apostasy law in this country. The act of accusing someone of apostasy or blasphemy is effectively inciting violence against that person.

‘Everyone who lives here has to accept the pluralism and the freedom of expression and belief in this country… This freedom is absolute.’

False rumors that the book had been burned raised concerns among the parents and local leaders, who discussed the incident with the police during a meeting at the local mosque.

The officers found that there was only “minor damage” to the Quran during the prank and that no crime had been committed.

However, it was recorded as a ‘non-criminal hate incident’, a designation police use to record those who do not meet the criminal threshold.

Headmaster Tudor Griffiths said there was “no malicious intent” but the students’ actions were “unacceptable” because they “did not treat the Quran with the respect it should.”

A source close to Ms Braverman told the times: ‘These are very worrying reports.

“The Home Secretary is clear that police response must always be proportionate and consider the welfare of young children a priority over any perceived insult.”

Humanists UK called the decision to suspend the children “horrendous” and said the school had allowed itself “to be pressured by a religious group into taking excessive disciplinary action”.

West Yorkshire Police said: “We are aware of local and national concerns following an incident at Kettlethorpe Secondary School in Wakefield last week.”

The police learned on the night of Thursday, February 23, of an incident that had occurred at the school that same day.

“Initial investigations confirmed that minor damage was done to a religious text.

“We have registered a hate incident, but from our investigations we are convinced that no criminal offenses were committed.

‘A report of a malicious communication offense was also made in connection with threats made to a child in connection with this incident.

‘A suspect, who was also a child, was identified and advised by an officer.

“We remain in contact with the school and our neighborhood officers are conducting additional quiet patrols in the area.”

The school is ten miles from Batley Grammar School, which was the center of parental protests in 2021 after a teacher was suspended for showing his students an image of the Prophet Muhammad.