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Michael Gove denies being at war with Theresa May Michael Gove denies being at war with Theresa May
(35 minutes later)
Education Secretary Michael Gove has denied being at war with Theresa May over the best way to tackle extremism.Education Secretary Michael Gove has denied being at war with Theresa May over the best way to tackle extremism.
Leaving home this morning Mr Gove said the Home Secretary "was doing a fantastic job". Leaving home this morning, Mr Gove said the Home Secretary "was doing a fantastic job".
Mrs May has accused her Cabinet colleague of not dealing with the alleged Islamist plot targeting Birmingham schools.Mrs May has accused her Cabinet colleague of not dealing with the alleged Islamist plot targeting Birmingham schools.
It is understood Mr Gove believes the Home Office does not react strongly enough to extremism generally.It is understood Mr Gove believes the Home Office does not react strongly enough to extremism generally.
Asked if he he thought Mrs May was too soft on Islamic fundamentalism, Mr Gove said : "No absolutely not she's doing a very fine job." Asked if he he thought Mrs May was too soft on Islamic fundamentalism, Mr Gove said : "No, absolutely not she's doing a very fine job."
David Cameron stepped into the row on Wednesday, David Cameron stepped into the row on Wednesday, asking for a full account of the row between the two ministers.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling also sought to play down the row, saying he had seen the two ministers working well together. The row was sparked by the so-called "Trojan Horse" allegations of a takeover strategy by a hardline Muslim group targeting state schools in Birmingham.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: there were always "tensions and debates" about policies in government but "I don't but the argument that there are massive divides about this in Whitehall". Confronting extremism
Asked about a suggestion that wearing the Hijab could be banned in schools, he said he had not heard any discussions about the issue in government. In a letter to Mr Gove, dated 4 June, Mrs May said: "The allegations relating to schools in Birmingham raise serious questions about the quality of school governance and oversight arrangements."
She added: "Is it true that Birmingham City Council was warned about these allegations in 2008? Is it true that the Department for Education was warned in 2010? If so, why did nobody act?"
Figures close to both ministers briefed the media after the Times newspaper reported clashes between the pair.
A Home Office source said: "The Department for Education is responsible for schools, the Home Office is not.
"They have got a problem and they are trying to make it someone else's problem."
Mr Gove's aides said he had long believed Whitehall did not do enough to confront extremism before it developed into terrorism - and his criticism did not relate specifically to the current home secretary.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling sought to play down the row, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme there were always "tensions and debates" about policies in government but "I simply do not buy the argument that there are massive divides on this across Whitehall".
Dress restrictions
Asked about a suggestion that wearing the Hijab could be restricted in schools as part of a crackdown on extremism, he said he had not heard any discussions about the issue in government.
Mrs May appeared to suggest, in her letter to Mr Gove, that the education secretary wanted to include restrictions on the wearing of headscarves by Muslim girls in a voluntary code of conduct aimed at combating extremism in schools.
The letter says: "We know that extremists try to impose specific forms of dress on people and this includes the mandatory veiling of women.
"The consultation document should be clear that nobody should be forced to dress in a particular way.
"We do, however, need to recognise that many moderate Muslims, as well as people of other religions, believe that covering one's hair is a religious requirement and some parents will therefore want their children to do so.
"The text on dress requirements should therefore not be part of the extremism definition but, consistent with the Government's already-stated position on the burqa, we should state clearly that nobody should be forced to dress in a particular way."
Labour MP Hazel Blears, a member of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee who had responsibility for the "Prevent" anti-extremism strategy as a minister, said she was "very concerned" that the government appeared to have scaled back efforts to counter the appeal of militant messages to young Muslims.
"This whole issue is too important to be reduced to a kind of ministerial spat or argument," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She added: "The Communities department has completely abandoned this agenda and it is left now to the Home Office and a particular police approach.
"They do great work, but the work that needs to be done is at local level, working with local authorities, with education, with the prison service. This should be an all-out government effort."