Ridgeway School’s barrister hotly disputed claims that a small group of Asian pupils “terrorised” the school and were viewed as a “significant threat to security”.

Ronald Walker QC defended the school while cross-examining a classmate of Henry Webster, who gave evidence about the fear the “Asian Invasion” created throughout the pupil body.

The teenage witness said the gang members numbered between seven and 15 and, although some of them were younger pupils, were still capable of “intimidating” their elders.

Mr Walker said: “It is your evidence that this small number of Asian pupils were capable of terrorising the school?”

The teenager said: “That’s correct. I don’t think their age makes a difference”. Mr Walker put to him: “And the school were unable or unwilling to deal with this?”

“Both,” said the teenager.

“I suggest that’s a huge exaggeration of the problems these people presented,” said the QC, but the witness responded: “That’s not correct.”

Mr Walker went on: “I suggest that the group in question didn’t terrorise or intimidate people, and they were not perceived as any significant threat to the school’s security by anyone.”

“That’s also untrue,” insisted the teenager.

Questioned further, the witness said the Asian Invasion’s “unifying feature” was their race, although Mr Walker suggested that what actually bound them together was coming from the same part of Swindon.

“That may be the case,” the pupil conceded.

“Do you think that they felt isolated or potentially under threat from the racist behaviour of white boys?” Mr Walker asked, to which the witness replied: “I doubt that, because there was no racist behaviour from the whites”.

Mr Walker also challenged the pupil’s assertion that gang members would “call out older relatives and friends down to the school to sort out fights”, suggesting that this was simply “untrue”.

The case will not sit tomorrow, when the judge is scheduled to make a “site visit” to the school, but is to resume next week.