The Salvation army, a great and laudable institution in its own way has NO BUSINESS in the education of young people by becoming a school body.

The charity, established in the 1860s to "wage war on sin", is one of a number of religious groups attempting to win state money to run schools.

It wants to take advantage of government plans to expand the number of state schools run by religious groups in an attempt to promote "diversity".

Many of the worst schools in Scotland and England, according to league tables, are full of ethnic minority kids whose parents are NOT Christians of any kind.

This is just Blair creating more social barriers and treating the poor as second class citizens. the parents of kids attending these schools will still get taxed, but they won't get an open, well funded school, they'll get a second rate house of indoctrination.

If people want their children in religious education they can PAY FOR IT THEMSELVES.