The school is at the centre of a storm surrounding its decision to postpone a visit from a pro-Israel MP
15:33, 15 Jan 2026
An academy which postponed a visit from a Labour MP over his links to Israel is investigating claims a senior staff member defended Hamas in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks.
The Bristol Brunel Academy, part of the Cabot Learning Federation(CLF), cancelled a visit from Damien Egan in September due to the threat of a public protest. The visit has been rescheduled for a new date.
Mr Egan is vice chair of the ‘Labour Friends of Israel’ group and is Jewish. His husband, Yossi Felberbaum, was born in Israel and served in the Israel Defence Forces for six years.
Now, a story in The Times has claimed that Saima Akhtar, who is the inclusion and diversity co-ordinator for CLF, made a series of posts on Facebook defending Hamas after militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted 251 others on October 7 2023.
In October last year - two years after the October 7 attack - Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting in the face of an escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the death toll in the Palestinian enclave reaching 72,000 people.
According to The Times, Ms Akhtar posted a quote on Facebook from Nelson Mandela on the day of the attack, which read: “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
The next day she posted a message which said “Palestine is fighting back” against an “apartheid” carried out by Israel. “This is a war against their oppressors,” she added on her Facebook page.
According to The Times, she then added: “This is an oppressed people standing up and fighting back. Just imagine if this was Ukraine attacking Russia? Heroes fighting for justice and their right to exist. Palestinians are no different. #FreePalestine.”
It is unclear if Ms Akhtar had any input in the decision to postpone Mr Egan’s visit to the Bristol Brunel Academy in September.
Her social media posts appear to have now been deleted. A spokesperson for the CLF said it had launched a “full and comprehensive investigation” into the alleged posts.
“We were made aware of these posts on Tuesday evening and immediately launched a full and comprehensive investigation,” the spokesperson said. “The promotion of inclusion and rejection of discrimination are enshrined in the CLF’s core values, and all staff are expected to embody these values in their behaviour – both inside and outside of school.
“We have also commissioned an external review of our existing training and development for staff, to further raise awareness of discrimination of any kind, including race, religion or ethnic origin. We take our responsibilities to educate young people about British values extremely seriously, which is why we invited Mr Egan to speak to our students in the first place.”
“Whilst we took the decision to postpone the visit due to concerns about student safety and the disruption to their education from the planned protest, a date for the rescheduled visit had already been confirmed by Mr Egan's office. This was long before any of the most recent concerns were raised.”
The postponement of Mr Egan’s visit has been characterised by many politicians—including the Prime Minister—and media outlets as a response to his Jewish faith.
Groups celebrating the cancellation of the September visit, such as the Bristol branch of the National Education Union and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, instead said it was because of Mr Egan’s support of Israel.
“MP Damian (sic) Egan’s planned school visit at Bristol Brunel Academy this Friday has been cancelled after concerns were raised by the NEU trade union staff group, parents and local constituents,” a post shared by both groups read.
“This is a clear message: politicians who openly support Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza are not welcome in our schools.
“Egan is Vice Chair of Labour Friends of Israel and has visited Israel since the current onslaught on Gaza began, demonstrating his support. We celebrate this cancellation as a win for safeguarding, solidarity, and for the power of the NEU trade union staff group, parents, and campaigners standing together.”
A spokesperson for the national leadership of the NEU said they had been unaware of the school’s decision to rescind Mr Egan’s initial invite until the story broke in the press this week.
On Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer said the postponement of the September visit was “very serious, very concerning,” and that MPs should be able to visit anywhere in their constituency safely and "without fear of antisemitism".
“We will be holding those to account who have prevented this visit to this school," the prime minister added.
In response, a spokesperson for the CLF said: “We fully agree with the Prime Minister’s view that MPs should be able to visit schools in their constituencies without issue.
“It is for that reason that Damien Egan has previously visited six of our schools – including his own former school, Hanham Woods, with Sir Keir Starmer in 2024. We entirely support the Prime Minister’s belief that visits like this should go ahead safely.”
The spokesperson then reiterated that Mr Egan’s visit had been rescheduled rather than cancelled.
“We were very clear that the visit would be postponed and there has never been any discussion about cancellation,” they said.
“Our only concern has been for the safety and wellbeing of our students and wider school community. We have remained in contact with Mr Egan throughout, and agreed a new date for the visit some time ago.”
For obvious reasons, the date of the new visit is not being shared publicly.