AN SNP MP who vowed to tackle inequality after being elected last month has been earning a second wage at one of Scotland’s top private schools.

Anum Qaisar-Javed continued teaching at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh after becoming the £82,000-a-year MP for Airdrie & Shotts.

In an election leaflet endorsing her, Nicola Sturgeon said Ms Qaisar-Javed was “determined to create a fairer and more socially just Scotland”.

George Watson’s charges up to £10,530 a year for primary pupils and £13,551 for seniors.

One local SNP member said the new MP was a “total phoney” and hypocritical, while Lanarkshire Labour said the SNP was treating voters with "contempt".

Ms Qaisar-Javed, 28, was elected in the North Lanarkshire seat on May 13 in a byelection triggered by the seat’s previous SNP MP, Neil Gray, switching to Holyrood.

In her election campaign, she frequently referred to herself as a “high school teacher” of modern studies, but did not identify the school.

“As a high school teacher, it’s been great to talk about education,” she tweeted on May 11 after campaigning alongside then education secretary John Swinney.

However she has now disclosed the school in her first register of parliamentary interests.

Under employment and earnings, she wrote: “25 May 2021, received from George Watson’s College, 69 Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5EG, £10,141 for work carried out as a teacher, and holiday pay. Hours: one day (approx. 7 hours) since my election.” 

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After she was elected, Ms Qaisar-Javed railed against inequalities in society.

She said: “The Covid pandemic has exposed the deep inequalities that exist in our society and my priority will be working to ensure that my constituents have the support they need to get through this crisis.”

She added that once the Covid crisis was over she would be “campaigning for Scotland to become an independent country, so we can make the changes needed to secure a strong, fair and equal recovery".

Before teaching at George Watson’s, Ms Qaisar-Javed was a “probationary teacher of social subjects” at the top-rated state-run Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh, but left at the end of the 2019/20 academic year, according to the school’s website.

The Herald:

Ms Qaisar-Javed referred to some of her pupils from this time at a Commons committee.

When Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings appeared before MPs last month, she said: “Prior to my election, I was a secondary school teacher. My 13-year-old weans understood the concept of closing the borders or stopping people from entering or leaving the country. If 13-year-old kids from Edinburgh could understand that, is it fair to say that they were thinking more critically than the Government?”

Mr Cummings replied: “Correct.” 

The Herald asked Ms Qaisar-Javed and the SNP press office how long she had taught at Watson’s and whether she would do so again as an MP.

Despite repeated requests for answers, the party did not respond with a comment.

A spokesperson for Labour in North Lanarkshire said: "With an £82000 salary, the people of Airdrie & Shotts deserve a full time MP, not a moonlighter for one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

"Yet again, the SNP show their contempt for the electorate by anointing candidates who appear more interested in their own pockets than the needs of their constituents."