Why did taxpayers foot the £500,000 bill to fund stressful, damaging court case against Britain’s finest school?

Class war

THE Michaela free school is arguably ­Britain’s finest — a miraculous place where inner-city London kids achieve some of the most spectacular GCSE results in the country.

It is non-religious, super-strict and traditional.

Kids of all creeds — half of them Muslim — sing God Save The King, learn to love Britain, work hard and reject wokery and victimhood.

It is brilliantly led by Katharine ­Birbalsingh, a “small c” conservative.

Naturally, the Left detests it.

Their version of multiculturalism imposes no values or duties on migrant communities.

That would be “illiberal”.

The epic failure of that theory has been proven beyond doubt.

But of course those left-wingers cheered the court case brought by one pupil, instructed by a troublemaking mother, claiming that the school’s ­openly-advertised secularism somehow ­discriminates against Muslims.

Fanciful tosh, which the High Court commendably saw through.

We do have one question, though.

Why did taxpayers foot the £500,000 bill to fund this stressful, damaging farce?

‘Fascist’ Left

SHUTTING down free speech and silencing opponents is the hallmark of dictators.

That it has happened in Brussels — the heart of the EU — is obscene.

Liberals love to brand things they dislike “fascism”, yet see no irony in using genuinely fascistic tactics themselves.

Their target yesterday?

A conference of mostly mainstream conservative types including ex-Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman, MP Miriam Cates and Nigel Farage . . . disrupted by police sent in by a socialist mayor who won’t tolerate the “far right”.

To socialists everyone else seems “far right”.

Most attendees were merely concerned with the migration crisis.

It was revealing — chilling, even — to watch Labour’s front-bench giggling over this outrageous left-wing abuse of power to crush their political foes.

We doubt wavering voters think it’s a laughing matter.

Sick nation

DOES anyone believe that since last year an extra 275,000 people of working age have genuinely become too ill for a job?

It defies belief. As does the record total of long-term sick — 2.83million.

Yes, NHS waiting lists remain scandalously long.

Some people are genuinely incapacitated.

But many others get casually signed off by GPs over mental health problems no worse than the everyday stress most of us endure.

It is a disaster for the economy.

The Tories’ current measures aren’t working — like millions of Brits.

Weed the skivers out, cut their handouts and force them to find a job.