London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Rishi Sunak’s ‘bizarre’ ties to rightwing libertarians highlighted by Labour

Rishi Sunak’s ‘bizarre’ ties to rightwing libertarians highlighted by Labour

Judgment questioned over years spent as director of east London free school later criticised for ‘improper’ practices
Rishi Sunak, the frontrunner for the Conservative leadership, was the director of a free school with close links to rightwing libertarian founders, which was found to have multiple financial and safeguarding failings years after his departure.

Labour said there were questions to answer about Sunak’s time as a director of the The East London Science school (ELSS), where the former chancellor served from its founding in 2013 until he ran for office in 2015.

A number of founders and original directors of the school were members of the now-dissolved Revolutionary Communist party.

Despite the leftist origins of the group, many of these former members are now most closely associated with the libertarian right wing, including the controversialist website Spiked.

Sunak is understood to have got involved at the ELSS during his preparation to run for office as a Conservative MP. A source close to the former chancellor said the school had been recommended by Boris Johnson’s team at City Hall.

During Sunak’s time as a director, the University of Kent sociologist Prof Frank Furedi, the founder of the Revolutionary Communist party, was invited to address a staff away day in 2014. A source close to Sunak said he had not been involved in the invitation. Furedi told the Guardian he had been invited to discuss pedagogic matters.

A regular contributor to Spiked, Furedi has written articles arguing against consent classes in schools and a critique of the furore around Jimmy Savile, saying: “If you dare question an allegation, if you call for some measure of objectivity, then you’re complicit in a double victimisation … You are as bad as the person against whom the allegations have been made.” Furedi told the Guardian neither were the subject of his talks.

At the time Sunak was a director – between 2013 and 2015 – the ELSS principal was David Perks, one of its co-founders. Perks was among those heavily criticised in a government investigation prompted by whistleblowers in 2019, after Sunak’s departure from the school.

In 2020, five years after Sunak left, the Education and Skills Funding Agency issued the ELSS with a “notice to improve” and noted “improper recruitment and setting of salaries for new appointees, especially where appointees had a prior connection to the principal.”

It also criticised the links the school had with the charity Battle of Ideas, which is linked to Claire Fox, who was later a Brexit party MEP and who also had past connections with the Revolutionary Community party. The school paid the charity £14,400 in 2019 for an event – but the report criticised the potential conflict of interest and said there “was no evidence to show how the connections, and potential conflict, were managed”.

Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “This bizarre tale raises yet more serious questions about Rishi Sunak’s judgment. Following his dismal record on education as chancellor – when he said he had ‘maxed out’ support for our children – he should explain his relationship with the characters involved in this school.”

In December 2021, the school was placed into special measures after a damning inspection by Ofsted, which criticised poor behaviour, poor safeguarding and weak provision for personal development, though the school was rated “good” during Sunak’s time as a director.

Perks left the school in November 2021, though he was described on the website as having been “away from the school for some time”. The Harris Federation is due to take over the ELSS, according to Schools Week.

During the pandemic, Perks came to prominence for saying he would not follow government guidance for pupils to wear masks in school, and criticised the prime minister’s decision. “I found it very challenging to see the prime minister defer to the scientists stood by his side … The decisions you make are decisions for people, and that’s an inherently political decision,” he told Unherd.

The ELSS has been contacted for comment and attempts to reach Perks were unsuccessful.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×