Keir Starmer says private school closures has 'nothing to do with' Labour's policy to charge them 20 per cent VAT

Sir Keir Starmer has said the closure of private schools has 'nothing to do with' his policy to charge them 20 per cent VAT.

The Labour leader faced questions after a school in Norfolk announced it would shut down over the party's pledge to introduce the increase straight away.

Answering questions at a campaign event in Bury, the Labour leader said: 'I've seen a number of reports of private schools closing. When you look at the details, it's got nothing to do with Labour Party policy at all.

'In fact, I think hundreds of private schools have closed over the last 14 years. And it's about time that was put into the mix when these stories are reported.'

Over the weekend, Downham Preparatory School in Norfolk - where almost a third of pupils have special needs - said it would close next month.

The principal of the prep school blamed Labour's policy to levy the tax on the decision to shut due to financial pressures.

Elizabeth Laffeaty-Sharpe said the school - which charges half the national average - would have been forced to pass the levy on to 'ordinary parents like plumbers and electricians'.

She told the Telegraph: 'We will not be the only one. There will be more following us. Small schools just cannot survive this.'

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) suggested Downham Prep School was a typical example of the smaller schools that will fall victim to Labour's tax proposals.

Labour has insisted that it will levy VAT 'straight away' on private school fees if it wins the election on July 4.

Parents and headteachers fear the 20 per cent tax will spark an exodus of pupils as families struggle to afford fees and go into the state sector.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, up to 40,000 children could be pushed out of private schools and into state schools due to Labour's plans - costing the taxpayer up to £300million a year.

The VAT charge is expected to raise £1.7billion which Labour has pledged to spend on a series of state education pledges, including hiring 6,500 new teachers.

However, this is based on parents keeping their children in the private sector, and schools staying open.

Last month, Alton School in Hampshire announced it would shut this summer after blaming 'adverse political and economic factors' which made it 'unviable' to run.

Families with children at the £18,000-a-year Catholic school have blamed the Labour Party's tax policies for forcing parents to remove their children and place them in the state sector, according to the Telegraph.

It comes after Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said that many private schools have 'pleaded poverty and say people will be priced out' by the proposals.

Mr Streeting said on BBC Question Time last week: 'I say to the headteachers, you're going to have to cut your cloth accordingly like state schools have had to.'

A spokesman for the Independent Schools Council said: 'While it is true that a number of economic factors are coming to bear on independent schools, the threat of VAT on parents' fees and the effect this is having on demand cannot be dismissed.

'This is evident in the fact that the fall in new pupils this academic year was the highest it has been since 2011, with heads telling us that VAT is very much at the forefront of parents' minds as they make long-term decisions about their children's education.

'We are particularly concerned about the unintended consequences of this policy, including adding further demand on a SEND system that is already in crisis.'