"Atheist" Lib Dem leader considers Catholic school for son
Nick Clegg has been accused of hypocrisy by a Sunday newspaper after a visit to the London Oratory School in Seagrave Road.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the Lib Dem leader is considering sending his nine year-old to the school - despite the fact that he is
risks coming under fire after it emerged he is considering sending his son to a Roman Catholic school.
The atheist Lib Dem leader, who has spoken of his opposition to faith schools, last week toured the London Oratory - a state school Tony Blair controversially sent his sons to.
He is said to be 'very keen' on the elite school in Fulham, West London, for his nine-year-old. But many Lib Dems will be incensed he is considering it, especially as his party campaigned against faith schools in their current form.
Mr Clegg, whose wife Miriam is Catholic, is looking at the London Oratory even though there are schools - including a Catholic one - closer to his home in Putney, South-West London.
The nearer Catholic school, John Paul II in Wimbledon, is described as 'satisfactory' by Ofsted, while the London Oratory is 'outstanding'.
The headmaster of the London Oratory, David McFadden, said his school would be a 'natural choice' for the couple, who were 'happy with what they saw'. The Cleggs' three sons attend Catholic primary schools.
But the Lib Dem manifesto vowed to 'ensure that all faith schools develop an inclusive admissions policy and end unfair discrimination on grounds of faith when recruiting staff'.he party also pledged to introduce 'policies to reduce radically all forms of selection'.
Yesterday a spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister said: 'Miriam and Nick have always refused to turn the issue of their children's education into a political football.
'They are considering a number of schools for their eldest son but no decision has been made.'
Mr Clegg has sent his children to Catholic schools even though he is a professed atheist.
Asked in a 2007 radio interview whether he believed in God, he replied simply: ‘No’.
Later, he said he had ‘enormous respect’ for religious people and added: ‘I’m married to a Catholic and am committed to bringing up my children as Catholics.
‘However, I am not myself an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind.’
Last night the Labour Party, which has long been dogged with accusations of hypocrisy over where senior figures send their children go to school, refused to be drawn into the controversy.
Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, who attended a state school in nearby Tooting, said: 'Nick and his wife should make the choice based on what's best for them and their family and we should keep out of it.'
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