Exclusive: Batley teacher's union donated money to charity that accused him of 'terrorism'

The union representing the Batley Grammar School teacher donated money to the charity that put his name in the public domain, it has emerged.

The Kirklees branch of the National Education Union (NEU) gave £3,000 to Purpose of Life, a charity based in west Yorkshire, which has been accused of leaving the teacher, who showed a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed to his class last week, in danger of "physical harm" by publishing his name online.

The group's chief executive, Mohammad Sajad Hussain, accused the teacher of "terrorism" and "insulting Islam", adding that the charity would not work with the school again until the RS teacher is "permanently removed".

Batley Grammar School sent pupils home early for the Easter holidays and issued an apology after the parents of Muslim children gathered at the gates to protest. The headmaster announced that the teacher has been suspended while the school investigates what happened.

The teacher and his family have been in hiding after reportedly receiving death threats in the wake of the protests.

Purpose of Life – which has since removed the teacher's name from its post online – was reported to the Charity Commission for acting in a "reckless" manner.

The NEU has been accused of being slow to condemn the threats of violence and intimidation that the 29-year-old teacher faced in the wake of the row. Now it has emerged that the union's local branch, which is currently supporting the teacher through the disciplinary process, recently made a donation to Purpose of Life.

On March 7, the charity published a video on YouTube to thank the NEU for its "kind donation of £3,000" and explain how it was spent – stocking a local food bank, building an education centre in Jordan and on a school in a Rohingya camp in Bangladesh.

Dr Paul Stott, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said: "There is now a real question mark about the ability of the NEU to represent its members at Batley Grammar School. That the Kirklees branch of the NEU has funded an organisation that calls for the sacking of a school teacher for doing his job is lamentable.

"The NEU now needs to review the organisations it funds and works with to avoid a repetition of this farce."

Earlier this week, it emerged that the teacher's family accused Batley Grammar's headmaster, Gary Kibble, of "throwing him under a bus" by failing to fight his corner while he lives as a fugitive.

The teacher's father told MailOnline: "My son keeps breaking down crying and says that it's all over for him. He is worried that he and his family are all going to be killed. He knows that he's not going to be able to return to work or live in Batley. It's just going to be too dangerous for him and his family."

An NEU spokesman said Purpose of Life should "never have published" the teacher's name, but added that it has "now withdrawn the name and apologised". The spokesman added: "We would ask all media and all other organisations to refrain from naming names. We believe this to be a major breach of privacy with serious repercussions for our member."

A Charity Commission spokesman said: "We are aware of this matter. We have contacted the trustees of Purpose of Life for further information and their response to our regulatory concerns – this will inform our next steps. We cannot comment further at this time."