A high school in Bristol, England, canceled a planned visit by a Jewish member of Parliament following a single complaint from a parent, The Telegraph reported Thursday. At the same time, a report commissioned by the school, parts of which were redacted, concluded that the cancellation was not motivated by antisemitism.
Damien Egan, a Labour MP, had been scheduled to visit Bristol Brunel Academy on September 5 last year, but the school called off the visit at the last minute. The Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), which operates the school, said the visit was postponed after learning that pro-Palestinian activists planned to protest outside the campus.
However, The Telegraph reported that an independent review found the decision stemmed from objections raised by one parent with family in the Middle East, who said they intended to protest the visit.
According to the report, the parent requested an urgent phone call with the school principal on the eve of the visit to express concerns and threatened to withdraw their child if the event went ahead.
The Telegraph also reported that a staff member raised concerns a day before the visit related to Egan’s husband, who is Israeli. Sources who reviewed the unredacted version said the staff member was informed that the visitor was Egan himself, who converted to Judaism in 2018, not his spouse.
The BBC reported that Egan, who represents Bristol North East, said the report had been heavily redacted and called on CLF to publish it in full.
Egan, who thanked former school principal Dame Joan McVittie for authoring the report, added: "I have seen the redacted version of the report that the Cabot Learning Federation Multi Academy Trust have released and would strongly encourage them to publish the complete version of the report. I will be writing to the Secretary of State to the same effect.”
The Telegraph further reported that the U.K. Department for Education said only information that could identify individuals should be redacted. However, the 20-page report includes 12 redactions, including the section detailing the specific complaints that led to the cancellation of the MP's visit.
Additional redacted sections reportedly addressed concerns raised by McVittie about a staff member who had expressed “partisan views on social media”, as well as another passage about two staff members whose views could be considered discriminatory. According to the report, none of the redactions included names or identifying details.
Separately, The Times reported that Saima Akhtar, the school’s diversity and inclusion coordinator, was dismissed earlier this year over statements praising Hamas.
Egan, a Labour politician, has served as MP for Bristol North East since 2024. Born in Ireland and raised in Bristol, he began his public career as a local councilor and later held several roles within the Labour Party, including serving as mayor from 2018 to 2024. He converted to Judaism in 2018 and has been active on issues related to U.K.-Israel relations.