Hitler remarks RE teacher David McNally struck off Published duration 28 October 2013

A religious education teacher has been struck off after telling pupils: "Hitler wasn't all bad - he killed the Jews, the gays and the disabled".

David McNally also told pupils at Kilwinning Academy that he would rather have been a child abuser and liked to watch porn on his mobile phone.

The remarks were made to S3 and higher RE classes on 1 November 2012.

McNally will be struck off after he was found to be unfit to teach by the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

In his submission to the General Teaching Council, McNally accepted he had made the remarks but that he was having a particularly bad day.

'Whip a child'

The teacher - who did not attend the hearing - was accused of making a number of offensive or inappropriate remarks.

As well as the remark about Hitler he asked one of his Higher pupils if they had had sex at the weekend.

On the same day he said to pupils in his third year class: "I didn't want to be a teacher. I would rather have been a prison warden or a child abuser."

He also said: "I have a part-time job at a children's home - they have taught me how to whip a child with a wet towel without leaving a mark."

The hearing was also told he said: "I love my mobile phone because I can sit and watch porn on it."

McNally also made inappropriate comments about disgraced DJ Jimmy Savile after widespread reports emerged about him being a child abuser.

The General Teaching Council panel noted that McNally had suggested that, after a long career, he had made these comments when he was having a particularly bad day.

But the panel rejected his suggestion that the comments had been made in a general sense.

It noted that the pupils had reacted to the comments by reporting the matter to their parents.