Pressure on Education Secretary grows

Pressure on the Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has been increasing over the weekend after it emerged that a teachers' agency had received written permission for a man at the centre of the row to work as a maths teacher.

However, a spokesperson for the Step Teachers agency said that the issue of his 1980 conviction could not be disclosed at the time of his employment at Porchester School in Bournemouth, as this would have contravened data protection issues.

Meanwhile, the teacher whose appointment sparked the row over sex offenders being permitted in schools has denied being a paedophile.

William Gibson, 59, told a local paper that he was "not a paedophile and was not a risk to children."

He was convicted in 1980 of indecent assault on a 15-year-old girl who was a pupil at a Sunderland School where he was teaching at the time. He later married the girl.

Over the weekend, the school at which he taught suspended Mr Gibson when his past came to light. The school's headmaster, Chris Bradley, has revealed that he was unaware of the teacher's past history. In the Daily Mail he was reported as saying that he felt "completely powerless," despite being anxious to ensure the "right people" were employed in the school.

Conservative leader David Cameron has demanded an independent inquiry into the appointment of teachers convicted in sex cases.

Last week the Shadow Education Secretary David Willetts said that public confidence in Ms Kelly was "ebbing away."

Mr Willetts has attacked the government's stance on the issue after Ms Kelly declined to reveal how many people on the sex offenders register were working in schools.

The Department of Education have already agreed changes to the procedures that will remove the decisions to appoint teachers from the hands of politicians. Professional experts will agree future decisions on teacher appointments.

The initial results of a review into the issue are expected later this week.

(SP/GB)