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→Politics and sexuality: Added information about McKellen's interference in UK education
In 2010 McKellen was publicly critical of UK anti-paedophile laws requiring actors to be checked by the police for previous offences before being allowed to work with children. He claimed the laws were unnecessary and denied there had ever been any problem with child sex abuse, although there had in fact been a recent case involving an actor named Rhys Young working in McKellen's own company the Little Theatre Guild. Young was sentenced to two years and four months in jail after admitting to sexual activity with a boy, dating back to 2006. <ref>
In 2010 McKellen was publicly critical of UK anti-paedophile laws requiring actors to be checked by the police for previous offences before being allowed to work with children. He claimed the laws were unnecessary and denied there had ever been any problem with child sex abuse, although there had in fact been a recent case involving an actor named Rhys Young working in McKellen's own company the Little Theatre Guild. Young was sentenced to two years and four months in jail after admitting to sexual activity with a boy, dating back to 2006. <ref>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249306/Sir-Ian-McKellen-Paedophile-vetting-laws-stop-theatres-using-child-actors.html</ref>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1249306/Sir-Ian-McKellen-Paedophile-vetting-laws-stop-theatres-using-child-actors.html</ref>
<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7222904/Sir-Ian-McKellen-facing-embarrassment-over-former-theatre-guild-member-with-paedophile-conviction.html</ref>
<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7222904/Sir-Ian-McKellen-facing-embarrassment-over-former-theatre-guild-member-with-paedophile-conviction.html</ref>
McKellen has freely made use of his celebrity status to promote his political agenda. In 2009, he visited Perry Beeches school in Birmingham to give moral support to Head teacher Liam Nolan who, in 2007, had been found guilty and fined £1000 and £1500 court costs for performing an indecent sexual act with an unemployed builder John Brown in a public park during school hours. <ref> http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/head-caught-sex-act-park-41594</ref>
McKellen congratulated Nolan on his success in teaching children the Stonewall agenda and stamping out "homophobic bullying" although there was no evidence that any such bullying had ever taken place.
<ref> http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/sir-ian-mckellen-visits-birmingham-108493</ref>
With the endorsement of McKellen, Nolan went on to direct five schools but in 2016 Nolan was removed from office for a long list of professional misconduct charges, including "a damning financial report" from the Trust. Nolan faced questions over paying himself a 'second salary' on top of his £120,000 p.a. Under Nolan's management the Trust's debts reached £1.8 million. So far McKellen has not commented.
<ref> http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/liam-nolan-quits-perry-beeches-11315244</ref>
==See also==
==See also==