The lead reviewer into antisemitism in British schools has previously been accused of singling out Muslim schools by suggesting they could potentially threaten Britain's coherence as a nation, it has emerged.

Sir David Bell, who led the antisemitism review published this week, made the remarks in 2005 when he was the head of Ofsted, Britain's schools regulator.

Meanwhile Iqbal Sacranie, then the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "With only 3 percent of Muslim children attending Muslim faith schools, it is astonishing that they have been singled out in this way, especially when considering the fact that state-funded Muslim schools and many independents are now outperforming the state sector."

Sacranie criticised Bell's remarks, saying "we consider it highly irresponsible to suggest that the growth of Muslim faith schools poses a threat to 'our coherence as a nation'.