Gore's climate change film 'indoctrination,' Briton says
Legal case challenges decision to show An Inconvenient Truth in schools
Last Updated: Friday, September 28, 2007 | 12:28 PM ET
CBC News
Saying that Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth has "serious inaccuracies," a British father is stepping up his legal fight against the U.K. government for sending copies of the climate change film to secondary schools.
Stuart Dimmock, a truck driver and school governor from Dover, told a London high court on Thursday the Oscar-winning film is unsuitable to show to school children because it is "indoctrination."
Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth is not suitable for children, a British father of two says.
(Associated Press)
"Given the serious inaccuracies in the film and the misrepresentations it contains, the film is irredeemable," said Dimmock's lawyer Paul Downes.
In February, British Education Minister Alan Johnson and Environment Minister David Miliband announced a plan to send An Inconvenient Truth to every U.K. secondary school, accompanied by a teaching guide.
The government said it wanted young people to be aware of the threat of climate change.
Dimmock launched legal action in July in an attempt to block the sending of 3,500 copies of the much-acclaimed documentary to schools.
But a judge ruled the decision was lawful, saying "the fact that the presenter is a public figure and active in U.S. politics does not arguably make the film as a whole one of political indoctrination."
New appeal to higher court
Dimmock hopes to overturn that ruling with a new appeal to a higher court.
"I wish my children to have the best education possible, free from bias and political spin, and Mr. Gore's film falls far short of the standard required," Dimmock said.
Downes argued in court Thursday that showing the film contravenes sections of the Education Act which prohibits the political indoctrination of children.
The film constituted "just over half scientific material, 30 per cent pure politics and about 20 per cent sentimental mush — mush there to soften up the viewer for persuasion," Downes said.
Guidance notes accompanying the film pack were not enough to correct these flaws, he said.
The presentation of the film to students amounts to "the promotion of partisan political views," he said.
Government counsel Martin Chamberlain argued that guidance notes for teachers tell them to point out that the documentary is political and to urge students to debate the issues.
The notes help present An Inconvenient Truth in a balanced way, he said.
The judge is expected to issue a written ruling at a later date.
