A former chairman of governors at a school in Birmingham has defended the Sultan of Brunei’s death penalty for gay citizens.

Shahid Akmal, who was the chairman of governors at Nansen Primary School until last week, told an undercover Mirror reporter: “It’s his right and it’s his country, so why shouldn’t he?”

The Mirror reports Mr Akmal defended jailing or exiling gay people and adulterers under Sharia law as a “moral position to hold”.

He said that gay people, adulterers and “fornicators” who have sex outside marriage should face exile.

“The Koranic concept is that anyone who causes disruption in the community, even if you put them in prison, from prison they can continue to cause disruption as well,” he said.

“So the best thing to do is to actually exile them so that the community can remain solid and united. It’s a moral position to hold.”

Mr Akmal also expressed racist and sexist views.

He claimed that “white women have the least amount of morals” and that women are “emotionally weaker” than men.

Mr Akmal appeared to defend British nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq, describing them as “freedom fighters”.

His school, Nansen primary, is among several in Birmingham to have been criticised in a report by former counter-terrorism police officer Peter Clarke, over fears about Islamic radicalism.

Last week, a scathing assessment by education watchdog Ofsted found that Nansen primary’s board of governors were “overly controlling”.

Music had been removed from the timetable and children were “not prepared for life in modern Britain”.

Mr Akmal and Nansen primary has denied any wrongdoing.

In April, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah gave approval to a new penal code in Brunei that calls for death by stoning for same-sex sexual activity.

A boycott campaign of the Sultan’s international hotel chain, backed by several celebrities, was launched in response.