Copland teachers reinstated

Three suspended teachers’ union reps at Copland community college in Wembley won an important victory last week when they were reinstated and all charges against them were dropped.

The headteacher at the school, Sir Alan Davies, the deputy head of finance, Dr Richard Evans, and the school accountant and legal advisor, Columbus Udokoro, have now been suspended.

Auditors are investigating allegations that senior staff received almost £1 million in “unlawful” bonuses over the past seven years.

One of the reinstated union reps, Hank Roberts, had previously spoken out about the payments and believes that this lay behind his suspension on a “trumped up charge”.

Hank said, “I would like to thank all my colleagues in the school and in the unions locally and nationally that stood firm in the face of attempted intimidation.

“It is right to whistleblow when wrongdoing is uncovered. It is necessary to ensure that whistleblowers are protected from trumped up disciplinary charges and actions aimed at silencing them. I hope that my and my colleagues’ action will encourage others to step forward.”