West Yorkshire teacher banned over discriminatory remarks

A teacher in West Yorkshire has been banned from the profession indefinitely after a professional conduct panel found he made discriminatory and inappropriate comments to students about Ukraine, gay people, and transgender individuals. William Garwood, 60, was prohibited from teaching following a Teaching Regulation Agency investigation into a history lesson he gave at St Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy in October 2023.

The panel concluded that Garwood's conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and brought the profession into disrepute. The allegations stemmed from a Year 11 history lesson on October 5, 2023, which was focused on Nazi Germany. According to pupil accounts, a student asked if there were any "just wars," to which Garwood replied "Yes." He then allegedly expressed happiness that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "killing satanic Nazis" in Ukraine, claimed the world was run by billionaires who created "evil Ukrainians," and described Ukrainians as "Satanists" funded by banks.

During the same lesson, the panel found Garwood stated that gay and transgender people are "mentally ill," or words to that effect, and claimed billionaires are "the...