Alleged infiltration of Birmingham schools by religious hardliners shows the need for more local oversight in education, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said on Saturday.

He told the NASUWT conference in Birmingham that allegations some schools in the city have imposed religious rules demonstrated “the inability of the Department for Education to run 5,000 schools from Whitehall.”

He continued: “It clearly shows the need for a new more accountable system of local oversight, especially as the existing local and regional infrastructure for monitoring schools has been so comprehensively undermined in the last four years.”

An emergency debate over the Birmingham situation is due to take place at the National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference today.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said yesterday that the union wanted to ensure there was “democratic accountability in all schools.”

But she told the press she was not there to “fan the flames” of the allegations of an extremist plot to take over schools. 

Birmingham NUT rep Roger King said it was being “blown out of all proportion” because the schools “happen to have a Muslim govenors.”

Mr King revealed that members working at schools recently investigated by Ofsted over the claims were asked whether they taught “anti-terrorism” and whether they were homophobic.

Female pupils were also asked by inspectors if they were allowed to sit next to boys in class. 

“I think those things are inappropriate. The staff were really upset and felt it was nothing to do with the Ofsted inspection,” he added.

The government announced yesterday that Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw would take a “personal lead” in investigating the allegations.

Mr Hunt refused to tell the Star whether he would hand local authorities the power to take failing free schools back under democratic control. 

He said that a report by ex-education minister David Blunkett detailing Labour proposals for more local oversight would be released soon.