Children from Newtongrange Primary visited the Central Mosque in Potterrow, but from an original group of 90 pupils, 28 were withdrawn. The trip had been organised to help educate the primary one, two and five pupils about other religions and cultures. But one parent today said they didn’t want their child “mixed up in the hate being preached in mosques”. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the wake of the killing of soldier Lee Rigby in London, and David Cameron’s pledge to “drain the swamp” of extremism.

Religious leaders and Midlothian councillors condemned parents pulling their children out the trip, but one 42-year-old parent of a P2 pupil, who did not take part, said: “I don’t agree with sending my child to a mosque to learn about a religion that isn’t my own. It’s the hate that is being preached in these mosques that I don’t want my child mixed up in.” Another said: “If you don’t want your kids learning that kind of stuff, then you should be allowed to say ‘no’. Many of my friends are a different religion to me, but they don’t try to ram it down my throat.”

It is not known whether girls who attended the mosque were asked to wear headscarves or long leggings. For those who didn’t attend, the school laid on an alternative lesson on Islam. One parent, whose five-year-old was also withdrawn, said her decision had been influenced by recent events. The 27-year-old mum-of-three said: “The timing was wrong with people protesting and guys getting killed in the street. If things were a bit calmer I’d have sent him along.