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Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable says school curricula must include “recognition of gay people” and should not change “because a few religious hardliners demand it”.

He came down firmly on the side of Birmingham schools that have been targeted by protesters opposed to lessons which portray LGBT people in a positive way, on the eve of a visit to the city.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Sir Vince said: “I want to show respect to the Muslim and Christian and other religions.

“But we’ve been absolutely clear that you can’t have a national curriculum that encourages prejudice or discrimination against members of the community.

“The idea that you shouldn’t have sex education in schools, or you shouldn’t include reference to gays, that argument was won a long time ago and we shouldn’t backtrack on it.

“I’m afraid if people in the Muslim community find that hard to take, I’m afraid that’s Britain.

“We do want state schools, in fact all schools, to have a national curriculum which does include sex education and includes recognition of gay people.

“I don’t think we should be backing down on that because a few religious hardliners demand it.”

(Image: Honor Bridgman)

Police were outside Anderton Park Primary school in Sparkhill yesterday, where campaigners opposed to relationship teaching claimed around 600 children had been kept away from classes .

Tensions flared amid claims of attacks of car and hundreds of pupils being kept at home.

Protests against lessons which portrayed same-sex relationships in a positive way have also taken place at other Birmingham schools, including Parkfield Primary School.

Sir Vince is visiting the city to campaign for the European elections, taking place on Thursday.

Many polls asking voters who they intend to support have suggested that Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party are in first place with Labour set to come second - but others have put the Lib Dems in second place, ahead of Labour.

Sir Vince said that the Lib Dems were gaining support because they were clearly opposed to Brexit and supported a second referendum, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to Sir Vince, has failed to make his position clear.

Asked if he believed the Lib Dems could come second, Sir Vince said: “It might well happen. There’s quite a lot of momentum behind it.

“The key thing that’s happened over the last few days is that a lot of Labour people have just got very disillusioned with Corbyn’s equivocation.

“Most Labour voters and most Labour MPs and activists are for remaining and want a people’s vote.

“The fact that he hasn’t been willing to come out and support that position outright has caused a lot of Labour people to break away.”

(Image: PA)

The Liberal Democrats have gone into the campaign with a colourful slogan. Their message, printed on the front of their European election manifesto, is “b******s to Brexit” (but without the asterisks).

Some critics have accused the Lib Dems of using offensive language. But Sir Vince made no apologies.

He said: “We had a very clear, unequivocal, honest message.

“I think traditional Conservative and Labour supporters are very disillusioned with their parties because of a lack of clarity.

“They are turning to us on one hand, and the Brexit Party on the other.”

One poll by YouGov suggested that the Green Party - which also wants another Brexit referendum - actually has more support than the Lib Dems in the West Midlands.

It raises the prospect that anti-Brexit voters in the region might be better off voting Green, in order to increase the chance of a “remain” candidate being elected.

But Sir Vince said he believed the Lib Dems had the best chance of winning an MEP seat, and pointed out that unlike the Greens the Lib Dems had been elected here in the past.

“I agree with the Greens about Europe, and on the environment.

“My sense is that actually we are the stronger of the remain parties.

"If we are trying to get an MEP elected, we could do it. We have in the past.

“You’ve got to throw your weight behind one of the remain parties, and in the circumstances we are the most promising prospect.”