The ex-editor of the Times Education Supplement (TES) sparked outrage this weekend by comparing a suspended teachers’ union rep with a nazi war criminal.

Gerard Kelly wrote on Twitter that Julie Davies “has been the biggest impediment to ed(ucation) in Haringey since Herman (sic) Goering.”

The TES editor of five years, who quit in September, was responding to a petition calling for Ms Davies to be reinstated as National Union of Teachers (NUT) secretary for Haringey.

Challenged to justify his comment, Mr Kelly added: “(Goering) bombed quite a few of the schools, tho arguably did less damage than Julie.”

“500 bombs were dropped on Haringey in Blitz and I reckon 5 schools were badly affected. Do you think JD disrupted more or fewer?”

The nazi Luftwaffe commander was found guilty of war crimes at the Nuremburg trials and committed suicide on the eve of his execution.

Trade unionists were also among the millions of victims of the Gestapo secret police founded by Goering.

His comparison was labelled “disgusting” by dozens of stunned teachers who instantly hit back at Mr Kelly’s comments on social media.

Mr Kelly’s position as chairman of governors at Haringey’s Woodside High School could also be in jeopardy as letters of complaint land on the headteacher’s desk today.

Support for the NUT petition calling for Ms Davies’s reinstatement soared to more than 2,000 signatures at the weekend.

“This is a politically motivated and baseless attack on an effective and well-respected NUT secretary,” the petition states.