Schools accused of ‘brainwashing’ children as they held a mock trial of Tory MP for ‘benefitting from slavery’

Two schools have been accused of ‘brainwashing’ pupils as young as 12 by holding an eight-hour mock trial for a Tory MP that was accused of ‘benefitting from slavery’ because of his ancestors.

Teachers from All Saints School in Weymouth and The Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis were slammed for bringing fictional claims against Richard Drax.

They tried to pin slavery ‘charges’ against the former British Army officer over his relatives’ role in the trade hundreds of years ago.

Forty pupils aged 12 to 18 were involved, taking on the roles of prosecution and defence lawyers, while others were split into three juries.

Clive Stafford Smith, a leading human rights lawyer, organised the mock trial and acted as the judge.

Chris McGovern, a retired head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘I do not think school children should be putting anyone on trial.

‘This is an example of out of control brainwashing and it should not be allowed as schools are duty bound to be impartial, not have an agenda.

‘There is room for a balanced debate based on knowledge but this is a type of fanaticism.’

Others who face fictional prosecution are expected to be Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Tony Blair and Jeff Bezos.

Prosecution witnesses included a supposed slavery expert while a wealth manager was brought in for the defence to explain it was ‘legitimate’ to inherit wealth.

Mr Stafford Smith, 62, said: ‘We had some students from two schools doing a series called Generation on Trial where we are putting people from my generation on trial for how they have messed up the world for the young generation.

‘We put the local MP Richard Drax on trial for benefitting from the proceeds of slavery because his family made all their money from that and we invited him to be the defendant but he didn’t come.

‘There were 40 pupils involved and they took on the roles of prosecution and defence lawyers, with the rest in three juries, and it was all filmed including their deliberations.

‘There were opening statements, and the prosecution outlined its case.

‘We had prosecution witnesses including a slavery expert and an expert on the medical consequences of the slave trade, while on the defence side there was a wealth manager who said it was legitimate to inherit wealth.

‘Mr Drax was invited to come to give a defence but declined, so there was a stand-in who responded how he thought he might.

‘The kids were actually very open-minded and poor Mr Drax got convicted on the charge of benefitting from the proceeds of slavery, but not on another charge.

‘The idea of this and the 3DCentre is to give young people opportunities to have the experience of human rights and to therefore get them excited about it.’

He claimed: ‘They really were, they were fabulous, They lasted eight hours without a yawn.’

Dan Watts, the headteacher The Woodroffe School, said: ‘We are extremely proud of our students and their keen interest in the world beyond the school gates.

‘Our students have a strong moral compass, are passionate about exploring and debating the key issues that interest them since they recognise they have an important part to play in our society in the future.

‘A key role of all schools is, as stated by the Department for Education, that students should be encouraged to develop an interest in investigating moral and ethical issues and use this knowledge to support their own understanding, whilst respecting the views of others.

‘Furthermore, it is expected that whilst at school, students build their understanding of and respect for democracy and the rule of law, as well as their ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong, in both simple and more complex situations.

‘Clearly emphasised by the 3DCentre was the fact that this was an academic discussion and did not purport to be a real trial, but an educational process.

‘However, care was taken by the organisers to ensure that the arguments heard by our students were balanced.

‘The 3DCentre is planning future ‘Generation on Trial’ events on issues ranging from climate change, Brexit, student loans to UK immigration policy and we will continue to support our students in taking part in them.’

Mr Drax, 63, is believed to be the wealthiest landowner in the House of Commons, with 5,600 hectares of farmland and woodlands, and is worth about £150million.

He owns the Drax Hall sugar plantation in Barbados. His ancestors ran the same plantation about 400 years ago and used slave labour.

Mr Drax has previously described his ancestors links with the slave trade as ‘deeply regrettable’.

But he said no one can be held responsible today for what happened hundreds of years ago.