A Durham-based PE teacher who told migrants to “respect our laws or leave” has been banned from the classroom despite an independent teaching panel clearing him of racism allegations.
British media reports broadly on the case of teacher Sam Everett, with the outcome of a teacher misconduct panel, published on 17th March, attracting the attention of Toby Young, head of Britain’s Free Speech Union.
The Daily Mail, which carries the story, reports that Mr Everett, 29, taught PE Haughton Academy in Darlington in Durham for two years, while using his Twitter / X account to share his right-wing views on politics and current affairs.
The judgement, published online this week, which details his posts, can be read in full here.
He had posted using a Twitter / X account which used his own name, and said he was a teacher.
It is understood that someone found out where he was employed and reported him to the school – triggering an investigation.
A note alongside the judgement published on the UK Government’s website reads: “The Secretary of State does not make these decisions themselves. They are made by a senior official on the recommendation of an independent panel.”
The Mail reports that his views included what some might regard as quite mainstream positions – including calling for the Navy to be deployed to stop small boats crossing the Channel.
Mr Everett, who acknowledged that the Twitter account in question was his, denied that any of his posts were racist or sexist. However, he was brought before a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel – the body responsible for deciding whether teachers should be struck off – which heard the case over three days in January and February this year.
“After hearing the evidence in full, the panel agreed with Mr Everett that he was neither racist nor sexist and recommended he should keep his job, concluding that publication of its findings alone would be sufficient punishment.
“Officials at the Department for Education then overruled that recommendation, concluding the panel had ‘failed to give sufficient weight’ to the seriousness of his conduct – and banned him from teaching indefinitely,” reports the Mail.
The newspaper notes some of the posts which the investigation focused on. One included Mr Everett saying:
“Completely agree, if you don’t respect our laws, culture and way of life you should leave, nobody is forcing you to stay. We don’t go to other peoples countries and tell them they’re wrong for how they go about things.’
“In response to a post saying ‘The law of Allah is superior to your laws’, he wrote: ‘Sick of hearing rubbish being spouted by these idiots. They can live in societies where their values are accepted, it isn’t here. Leave. You won’t be missed.’
“In response to a Britain First post describing migrants as ‘illegal migrant invaders’ approaching British shores, he wrote: ‘Deploy the navy.’
The panel found the posts offensive, claiming it implied advocating the use of military force against unarmed people in small boats.
“Another post read: ‘There’s not an Islamist problem in our country according to some. How many times do we get called racists for being English? These people come from the most intolerable and barbaric places you can imagine and think they have more rights than us. Bore off.’
In another post, the teacher wrote that anyone who uses the word ‘comrade’ ‘deserves to be shipped to Russia’, and when pro-Palestine protesters were picketing McDonald’s he wrote: “Feel like ordering 20 nuggets every time I see these idiots.”
In response to a post asking whether Eddie Izzard should be allowed in women-only toilets and changing rooms, he replied simply: ‘No’ – with the panel finding that this post did not cross the threshold into offensive conduct.
“While the panel upheld a number of complaints – finding several posts offensive and concluding Mr Everett had demonstrated a lack of tolerance – it stopped well short of branding him racist or sexist, and recommended against a ban,” says the Mail.
Further, the panel noted that his colleagues “had spoken highly of him, that he had an unblemished record teaching pupils from all backgrounds, and that a subsequent employer had taken him on through an agency in full knowledge of the misconduct hearing – and said he would have no hesitation hiring him again.”
A report from the panel said the teacher had “demonstrated insight and remorse from the point at which the concerns were raised” and had deleted his posts and closed his social media accounts – concluding that there was ‘no significant ongoing risk of repetition’.
However, it is understood that the Secretary of State’s decision-maker overruled the panel and imposed the ban, saying a published finding alone would not “satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession.”
The panel’s report noted: “Mr Everett had, by his own admission, failed to successfully apply the necessary privacy controls and he was identifiable as a teacher on his profile. Although the school was not referred to, there was plainly enough information available to enable someone to email the school to express concerns about Mr Everett’s posts.”
He was dismissed by Haughton Academy in June 2024 and is now banned from teaching indefinitely, the Mail reports.
The newspaper said that the teacher, who must wait two years before he can apply to be reinstated (with no guarantee that such an application would be successful) was not available for comment.