© Tom Blewitt – Predator Awareness

Residents in Tipton and Wednesbury have reacted with anger after local MP Antonia Bance publicly defended a former social worker connected to an illegal boarding school that an inquiry found put children at risk of serious harm.

The controversy centres on Khurshid Haque, who has now been approved to stand for Labour in Tipton Green. He previously ran an unregistered boarding school where children were living in unsafe and unacceptable conditions.

Reports into the property described a number of serious safeguarding concerns. Children were:

* Forced to share just three bedrooms despite the number of residents

* Provided with very limited washing facilities

* Living in a property with hazardous electrical wires hanging down

* Exposed to conditions authorities said put them at risk of serious harm

The anger erupted after Bance responded to criticism on social media defending Haque’s past.

In her reply she wrote:

“I will say this once. And once only. Khurshid made a mistake, a number of years ago. He paid the penalty for that. He is a valued and upstanding member of the community, and I am proud he is standing for the council.”

The remark quickly sparked outrage among residents and campaigners who argue that the situation involved much more than a simple mistake.

Describing the situation as a “mistake” minimises the seriousness of what Khurshid Haque did. With one resident saying “it’s child abuse, pure and simple”.

Local residents have expressed shock that a sitting MP would publicly support someone connected to a case involving child safeguarding failures.

Some have said the comments are particularly painful for those who experienced the conditions inside the property.

Campaigners argue that victims of the boarding school may now have to see their experiences dismissed as a “mistake.”

In a statement founder of Predator Awareness Tom Blewitt said:

“The comments made by this MP are disgraceful. Imagine how the victims feel seeing their MP out campaigning for Haque and hearing their MP say he “made a mistake.” A mistake is putting sugar in the wrong coffee. What happened here was not a mistake — it occurred over a prolonged period of time. As a social worker at the time, he knew this was illegal.

Let’s call this what it is. I call a spade a spade, and this is child abuse, pure and simple. Describing it as a “mistake” is an insult to every child who had to live in those conditions.

Antonia Bance should either resign or be suspended. Her comments fall well short of what is expected from those elected to public office”

The controversy has reignited debate about child protection standards and political accountability.

This situation sends the wrong message to families and vulnerable young people.

Safeguarding children must always come first, political leaders should show zero tolerance for situations where young people were placed at risk.

For many in the community, the message is simple:

Our children deserve better.