Yesterday, there were vast protests across France against the beheading of French teacher Samuel Paty by an Islamist butcher. His “crime”, you will remember, was to show cartoons of the prophet Muhammad to his students in a class on free speech. French Teaching Unions have, as one, condemned the murder and spoken out on the importance of free speech. They are clear: they support liberty and say #JeSuisProfesseur.
Meanwhile, over in the UK, teaching unions, notably the largest, the NEU, normally have an opinion on everything under the sun. You would have thought that they would have said something about the murder of Mr Paty three days ago. But no. Not even a tweet of solidarity.
After a summer of bedwetting over Covid which saw the gap between kids in state and public schools widen as teachers at the former showed unjustifiable idleness and cowardice, Britain’s generously paid teachers already have a lot of explaining to do. Kids elsewhere in Europe were at school as data showed there was minimal risk to them and to teachers, while kids in Britain were left to rot at the behest of militant unions.
And now this. Why does the NEU not show solidarity with the late Mr Paty? Why does it not think it important to stress that it, like the French Unions, believes that freedom of speech is vital? There can be no ifs and buts here – one either embraces and supports this essential liberty or one does not. So which is it NEU?