A campaign by the BNP in Stoke to have halal meat removed from school meal menus has been deafeated, despite BNP leader Michael Coleman tabling a motion to have the meat removed from the schools as the slaughter method was "barbaric".
He claims that animals are not stunned before they are slaughtered in the halal method and he raised the issue after a group of angry mums approached him.
He stated "I think to kill an animal in that way is barbaric. It is not labelled correctly and the general opinion was that it's a dirty trick to play on mothers and children. There are also fast food outlets that sell halal meat and it is not identified. I would like to express my disgust that we have got schools in this city, teaching kids to be kind to animals when they are being served meat killed in this way.
"It's not about religion, it's about the way these animals are killed."
However the accusations were quickly shot down by Labour councillor Joy Garner, who said "There is hardly any difference from the slaughter that goes on in most slaughter houses. The vast majority of halal meat is stunned first. The only difference is a prayer is read over the animals. We have a duty to look after animals, not just a few minutes before death."