A former MI6 spy who was able to infiltrate Al Qaeda has said he is moving out of Edinburgh after accusing a top school of 'hate' towards his daughter.
Aimen Dean has claimed St George's School had discriminated against his five-year-old child due to his background and employment history. Previously working as an agent for MI6, Aimen Dean had gone undercover as a bomb-maker for the terrorist group, while collecting vital intelligence for the UK.
After being granted British citizenship, both he and his wife had settled in Edinburgh in 2015, with their daughter going on to attend the prestigious school.
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However, the family have said they will now return to the Middle East due to the "toxic environment" and treatment they have received in Scotland.
The Scottish Daily Express reports that the 44-year-old said a school staff member said "Do not expect a welcome here in Scotland, especially in Edinburgh," even though at the time of the 9/11 attacks he had been working inside Al Qaeda.
Now a security consultant, Dean and his wife Saaida said they are leaving for the Middle East after being made so distressed by their experience.
He said :"[Next time] it will be the kids of Afghan interpreters or brave Russian spies who we're helping. This scenario will be repeated, whether it's York or Brighton or London or anywhere else, if we don't take a stand on this now."
Responding to the claims, St George's denied all allegations made against them, telling other parents on Sunday after the claims first emerged that it had "every confidence" that the regulator would clear the school and its former headteacher Alex Hems.
Carol Chandler-Thompson, who recently took over as St George's headteacher, said: "I can tell you that we very strongly dispute the allegations made against us and Mrs Hems, and have submitted a detailed rebuttal to the registrar."
The school could be made to improve its policies and governance and could be subject to a formal inspection by Scottish ministers if the registrar finds against the school.
Ex-spy risked his life as a double agent
Mr Dean worked as a bomb-maker with Al-Qaeda in the 1990s after which he left to join thousands of Muslims fighting against the Serbs in Bosnia. He agreed to spy for MI6 after he became disillusioned in 1998 and provided information in 2001 when the terror group attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
He wrote a memoir in 2015 called Nine Lives detailing his exploits as a double agent by which point he was granted British citizenship. He moved to Edinburgh wife his wife and enrolled their daughter at St George's school nursery which charges £9,978 per year for children in primary 1 and 2.
Mr Dean said: 'We thought it would be perfect for her. Actually, it was a mistake." He added that "everything became sour" after he appeared on a Channel 4 documentary about Osama Bin Laden last September.
Mr Dean told the podcast Blethered with Sean McDonald he felt 'conflicted' about his decision to move as he had given up his Saudi nationality to serve the UK. He added: "I will campaign for St George's School to lose their charitable status. They should not have it."
He claims that an online meeting with senior staff members, that the couple were told other parents believed he might be targeted by assassins and despite reassurances from MI5 the school asked them to change their drop of and pick up times and to delete their picture of her in school uniform from social media.
The couple claimed they complied for seven months, and that the late drop-off time meant their daughter was singled out by teachers. She told her parents: 'They keep shouting at me. Why does the school hate me?'
He claims the Deans' request that their autistic son attended the nursery with one-to-one support paid for by the family was turned down in April.
Mr Dean claims that with their son present a teacher suggested the family leave Scotland. They informed the school of this decision in May and Mr Dean was banned from the premises for allegedly sending angry messages to a WhatsApp group for parents.
Senior staff and the couple met in June and rejected their offer of mediation after they refused their request for an apology and for their daughter to attend at the same time as other children.
Mr Dean claims they told them: "You're Al Qaeda. That is scary for other parents."
A spokesman for St George's said: "While this matter is being examined by the Registrar of Independent Schools it would be inappropriate to comment."
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