Religious classes have been suspended at a mosque where a teacher was captured on a secret camera allegedly hitting youngsters.

New training procedures are also being introduced at the Markazi Jamia mosque in Emily Street, Keighley, where the alleged assaults were exposed on a Channel 4 Dispatches programme screened on Monday night.

A man who was arrested at the weekend after police were shown the footage has been released on bail pending further inquiries.

When teaching resumes, the instructors will be overseen by members of the mosque committee. All staff are to undergo training in child protection procedures and a new child protection policy is to be introduced. Khadim Hussain, speaking on behalf of the mosque committee, said: “We can make no excuses. We will be turning the system upside down to make our procedures watertight.

“We need to make an immediate start. This is a wake-up call for the members.

“We need to re-establish the confidence of the parents and the wider community. What we saw was not acceptable. The safety of our children is paramount.”

Keighley MP Kris Hopkins said: “I’ve written to the Prime Minister making clear my view that all educational establishments, including madrassas, should be subject to the same stringent controls and systems of regulation, with CRB checks for all staff being mandatory.”

He added that the police needed the entire community’s backing, including the mothers and fathers of the children who were allegedly attacked.

  • Read the full story in Wednesday’s T&A