THE Church of Scotland minister who found himself at the centre of a media storm after heckling Jeremy Corbyn yesterday will no longer be the chaplain at his local school.
Reverend Richard Cameron's social media posts - in which he called Islam a “religion of violence” and accused gay people of celebrating “perversion” - surfaced after he publicly branded the Labour leader a "terrorist sympathiser" outside a campaign event in Glasgow.
As Corbyn visited Glasgow on the campaign trail, Reverend Richard Cameron referenced the tartan scarf he was wearing, sayin “I thought you’d be wearing your Islamic Jihad scarf?” and suggesting he would invite terrorists to Downing Street if he became prime minister.
READ MORE: Kirk received complaint nine months ago about minister who heckled Corbyn
The Church of Scotland said they "deplore any comments which are Islamophobic or homophobic" and promised any complaints into the matter would be "taken seriously and addressed".
And Green MSP Ross Greer, a member of the Church of Scotland, tweeted that Cameron’s “bigoted nonsense” doesn’t represent the Kirk, adding: “The bigoted tweets surfacing certainly don’t.”
It later emerged that Humanist Society Scotland had complained about the Scotstoun Parish Church minister's behaviour on social media nine months ago. The Presbytery of Glasgow closed the complaint noting they had "given advice in relation to social media" to the minister.
Now, parents of pupils at Scotstoun Primary School have been told Cameron will "no longer be engaged" with the school.
Gill Mackay, the head teacher at the primary school, wrote to parents today saying: "You may be aware of some social media posts currently circulating over the last 24 hours involving our school chaplain Rev Richard Cameron and I wanted to write and inform you that he will no longer be engaged with our school, Scotstoun Primary School.
READ MORE: Jeremy Corbyn heckled by Church of Scotland minister in Glasgow
"Glasgow schools celebrate diversity and the cultural make up of our city – teaching respect and understanding of these cultures and religions to our children and young people and like all Glasgow schools we pride ourselves in the expression of different opinions.
"However, when these opinions cause offence, then we need to evaluate the reputational risk to our school and the potential damage to the education of our children."
The head teacher said she would keep parents up to date on the situation.
Yesterday, a Church of Scotland spokesperson said: “There has been significant concern raised today about the comments made by Rev Richard Cameron and his social media use.
“At this stage all we can say is that there is a formal complaints process and that any complaints we receive in relation to this matter will be taken seriously and addressed."
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