RAF cadet suspended for saying 'Islam is Britain's biggest security threat'
A Royal Air Force cadet has reportedly been suspended after allegedly saying Islam is the greatest security threat to the UK. The cadet is said to have made the alleged comment during a question and answer session at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire.The session saw he and 50 other students tasked with giving presentations, during which they had to answer questions about the biggest security threat facing the country, according to reports. The cadet has reportedly been booted off the officer training course, pending an investigation which the RAF confirmed is ongoing. Retired rear admiral Chris Parry criticised the RAF’s approach and said the cadet should be allowed to return to training.He said if he was running the session, he would have asked the cadet to “expand on his thinking and got some critical thinking going”, rather than suspend him.Speaking to the Daily Mail, which broke the story, he said: “Clearly Islamic extremism is the issue and not Islam, but how are young people expected to develop critical thinking around these complex issues if they are shut down in this way?“This is the fault of a system that is training its young people but not allowing them to express themselves and develop their thoughts. “Any mature educational establishment should do just that.”The retired senior officer also said he doubts the cadet would’ve been suspended if he answered “the far-right”, adding this “appears to have been a missed opportunity to discuss that for fear of causing offence”.RAF Cranwell is where the Air Force’s next generation of officers are trained.The cadet who was suspended was undergoing a 24-week Modular Initial Officers Training course just before Easter, according to the Mail.An RAF spokesman said: “We are aware of an alleged incident of inappropriate behaviour involving a cadet at RAF Cranwell. An investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further.”
