Conservative donor and media mogul Sir Paul Marshall has stood down as chair and trustee of Ark Schools after he was accused of liking and sharing far-right extremist posts and conspiracy theories on social media.
Ark, one of England’s largest academy trusts, said Marshall had “indicated earlier in the year his intention to step down from the Ark Schools board to focus on other philanthropic and business commitments”.
The trust claimed this comment was made during a confidential board discussion at the end of last year.
The News Agents podcast and Hope Not Hate, a charity opposing far-right extremism, reported in February that Marshall had retweeted and liked content “which is on the most extreme end of political opinion about Islam” from a private account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
