A teacher who called a transgender pupil a girl has been sacked from a second school after describing Muhammad as a 'false prophet' in a video. Joshua Sutcliffe, a maths teacher, was dismissed from a Catholic school in Islington, London, in November 2019 following his YouTube comments.
Mr Sutcliffe's legal troubles began in 2017 when he said 'well done girls' to a group that included a pupil who identified as a boy while teaching at a school in Oxford. The teacher later took legal action for constructive dismissal and discrimination, but both parties settled out of court. Details of the settlement have not been made public, but it is understood Mr Sutcliffe was fined £195,000.
Mr Sutcliffe told the BBC he was 'constructively dismissed' from the London school after making a video in which he said 'Mohammad is a false prophet'. He insisted he 'never forced anyone to think or do anything' and 'remained professional' while teaching. The school said Mr Sutcliffe resigned after being contacted by the BBC for comment.
An investigation in December 2017 found Mr Sutcliffe had 'misgendered' the Oxford pupil, breaking its policy on equality. At the time, he told the head teacher he did 'not share your belief in the ideology of transgenderism'. Mr Sutcliffe claimed he had been 'placed on the altar of the current cancel culture climate' and had no regrets over his comments.
