A Warwickshire school has offered "unreserved apologies" to a student prevented from making a speech at school about being British, while wearing a union jack dress.

>The 12-year-old, who attends Bilton School in Rugby, wore the outfit for Culture Celebration Day on Friday.

Her father, Stuart Field, said: "My daughter felt like there was an issue, she felt like it was something she shouldn't have done. That's what is wrong about this whole situation."

>A spokesperson for the school said: "We deeply regret the distress this has caused and offer our sincere and unreserved apologies."

Mr Field added: "None of this would have happened had [the school] just followed their own policy of inclusivity and let everyone share a little about their culture."

>And he said: "I don't think anyone from school really read her speech. It was more a case of 'no, it's not happening'."

A statement from Bilton School said: "We are proud of the diversity of our students and the rich heritage they bring to our community.

>"We are committed to fostering an environment where every pupil feels respected, valued and included.

"On 11 July, an incident occurred during our Culture Celebration Day that caused considerable upset to one of our pupils, her family and members of the wider community."

>The school said it apologised, before the statement added: "We have since spoken directly with the pupil and her family to listen to their concerns and reflect on how this could have been handled better.