Faith leaders, politicians and education experts have signed a joint letter asking the education secretary to reconsider his plans to remove the 50-per-cent cap on faith-based admissions to over-subscribed free schools. The letter, which argues that the “divisive policy” is a threat to “social cohesion and respect”, is backed by 71 signatories, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Professor Richard Dawkins, and joint heads of the National Education Union, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney. Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, who said she would vote against plans to lift of the cap last time it was mooted, has also signed the letter to Damian Hinds. Plans to stop forcing new religious free schools to keep at least half of their places open to all local children, irrespective of religion or belief, were first announced in the last government’s ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation in 2016. The idea was put on hold after last year’s general election, and the Department for Education has yet to provide a formal response to its consultation. However, Catholic school-educated Hinds, a long-standing critic of the cap, told the Sunday Times last month that he intends to get rid of it. Organised by Humanists UK, the letter states that removing the cap on religious selection betrays schools’ duty to emphasise “the common values that we all share”. “We are all in agreement that our state schools, of whatever character, should be open, inclusive, diverse, and integrated, and never exclusive, monocultural, or segregated,” it says. It also claims that the plan to scrap the cap is “ by 80 per cent of the public, including 67 per cent of Catholics and 71 per cent of Christians overall”. “People from across the political spectrum, representing a range of different religions and beliefs, are united on this one point: whatever your views on faith schools themselves, it cannot be right for taxpayer-funded schools to divide and discriminate against children,” said Humanists UK chief executive Andrew Copson. “That is the principle that underpins this letter, and it ought to be the principle that underpins our education system too.” A spokesperson for the Catholic Education Service argued that the 50 per cent cap “hasn’t created diversity”. “This is because minority faith schools are only popular with their respective community. Catholic schools on the other hand are extremely popular with parents of all faiths and none. “All the cap achieves is that it prevents Catholic parents from having the same choice of schools enjoyed by other parents.” The signatories in full… Andrew Copson, Chief Executive, Humanists UK Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury Revd Stephen Terry, Chair, Accord Coalition Derek McAuley, Chief Officer, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches Rabia Mirza, Director, British Muslims for Secular Democracy Revd Iain McDonald Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary, NEU Kevin Courtney, General Secretary, NEU Professor Steve Jones Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain OBE, President, Accord Coalition Sarah Wollaston MP Dr Theo Hobson Lord Storey, President, Liberal Democrat Education Association Jonathan Bartley, co-leader, Green Party Caroline Lucas MP, co-leader, Green Party Selina Todd, President, Socialist Education Association Revd Marie Dove Professor Richard Dawkins Baroness Whitaker Rabbi Dr David Goldberg OBE Louise King, Director, Children’s Rights Alliance for England Simon Barrow, Director, Ekklesia Professor Ted Cantle CBE, Director, Institute for Community Cohesion Foundation Lord Meghnad Desai Baroness Lola Young Professor AC Grayling CBE Professor Alice Roberts Revd Richard Bentley Lord Tristan Garel-Jones Revd Jeremy Chadd Peter Tatchell Professor Christopher Rowland Natalie Haynes Sir Stephen Sedley Baroness Joan Bakewell, co-chair, All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group Ian McEwan CBE Simon Singh MBE Baroness Thornton Philip Pullman CBE Lord Dick Taverne Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou Professor Richard Norman Alan Murray, Director, All Faiths and None Professor Colin Blakemore Dr Peter Cave Nicci Gerrard Professor Stephen Gibbons Sir John Sulston Professor Richard Wiseman Sue Cook Michael Gore CVO, CBE Joan Smith Sir Roy Calne Professor Raymond Tallis Professor Stephen Smartt Dr Richard Bartle Professor David Hand Jamie Theakston Elisabeth Dalton Janet Ellis MBE Baroness Elaine Murphy Sir Keith Thomas Professor Pat McKeown OBE Professor Sir Anthony Epstein CBE Professor Keith Ward Virginia Ironside Warren Ellis Dr Michael Irwin Adèle Anderson Baroness Lorely Burt Maureen Duffy