The headteacher of a primary school at the centre of a row over lessons about same-sex relationships has told a court that “protesters are inciting hatred”.

Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson was giving evidence at a hearing to determine whether demonstrations should be permanently banned from directly outside Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham.

Demonstrations were held on a daily basis earlier this year for several weeks, led by Muslim community members who argue that children should not be taught that “it’s okay to be gay”.

Ms Hewitt-Clarkson told Birmingham’s Civil Justice Centre on Monday: “I have seen many tweets and texts and video messages by the protesters that shows they are not interested in consultation.

“There are many things that I have seen and heard over the past nine months, particularly posted by some of the defendants, that are inciting hatred.”

An interim injunction was granted in June banning the protests within an exclusion zone after lawyers successfully argued the demonstrations directly outside the school gates were “anti-social and unacceptable”.

Opening the case, Jonathan Manning QC – who is acting on behalf of Birmingham City Council – told the court that the protests have caused “distress and harm” to people at the school.

He said that the protesters make “untrue allegations about what the school is teaching… for example, the allegation that they had invited convicted paedophiles into the school to teach children about… sex.”

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson told the court about her first meeting with lead protester Shakeel Afsar, whose sister Rosina Afsar has children at the school, and who are both defendants in the case.

The headteacher claimed Mr Afsar “slammed his hand on the desk” in her office and was “volatile” and “aggressive”.

Asked about books used in the school that depict families with same-sex parents, Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson told the court: “It is okay to be gay.

“Some people have two mummies, some people have two daddies and that is as equal to having a mummy and a daddy.”

One of the books protesters object to is called “My Princess Boy”.

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson recalled a conversation she had with a father from her school who allegedly said: “If my son dressed up in a dress I’d just laugh at him.”

She told the court: “I said; ‘We can’t laugh at people in school. We need to make them feel safe’.”

Barrister Ramby de Mello, who is acting on behalf of the protesters, asked the headteacher if she appreciated that the books would attract a “strong objection” from the majority of parents at the school who are of Pakistani Muslim heritage.

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson replied that she has received letters of support from Muslims who do not agree with the protests.

She added that “there is a tension, of course, when one particular faith or scholar says homosexuality is a sin… it is not sinful in British law”.

She told the court that if she were to lock certain books away from children whose parents would be offended by them, “that seems to me to be the opposite of what equality is all about… it’s the opposite of what this country is about”.

Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson also said that the school cancelled parents evening in February “because staff were concerned about their safety”.

Asked whether she refused to entertain the religious views held by parents, Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson told the court: “I do not refuse to entertain parents’ religious views at all. We have had hours and hours and hours and hours of meetings about their religious views”.

The hearing will resume on Tuesday and is due to last for a week.

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