Keir Starmer weighed in on a school's decision to put a 12-year-old in isolation over her dress choice on its culture day. Courtney Wright, 12, wore a dress featuring the Union Flag to school and wrote a piece about history and traditions to take part in the initiative held last Friday. In a permission letter sent to parents, the school said the event was "designed to promote inclusion, understanding, and appreciation of different backgrounds, traditions and heritages". But the student was told her dress was "unacceptable", before being thrown out of lessons and told to sit in reception until her dad came to collect her.

Now, Sir Keir Starmer's spokesperson has appeared to side with Courtney and her family. They said: “I think the school has put out a statement on this so I’m not going to comment further, but the Prime Minister has always been clear that being British is something to be celebrated.” The schoolgirl's dad, Stuart, claimed other pupils with St George's flags and Welsh flags were also turned away from the school gates.

He said: "Courtney was so embarrassed and couldn’t understand what she’d done wrong.

"It’s the school who have made it political and it went against everything the event was being held for.

"She chose the dress and wrote the piece off her own back."

A spokesman for Stowe Valley Trust said: "At Bilton School, we are proud of the diversity of our students and the rich heritage they bring to our community.

"We are committed to fostering an environment where every pupil feels respected, valued, and included.

"On Friday 11th July, an incident occurred during our Culture Celebration Day that caused considerable upset to one of our pupils, her family, and members of the wider community."

They added: "We deeply regret the distress this has caused and offer our sincere and unreserved apologies.

"We have since spoken directly with the pupil and her family to listen to their concerns and reflect on how this could have been handled better. We are committed to learning from this experience and ensuring that every student feels recognised and supported when expressing pride in their heritage.

"As a school, we are reviewing our policies and strengthening staff training to ensure our practices reflect our values of inclusion, respect, and understanding for all.”