The Zohan

Taken from http://uk.news.yahoo.com/15012006/34...hing-role.html

"Education Secretary Ruth Kelly gave written permission to a convicted child sex offender to teach in schools, it emerged.

In a letter obtained by the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Kelly's department told 59-year-old William Gibson his actions had been "unwise", but said she had decided "not to bar or restrict your employment".

The letter will increase pressure on Ms Kelly, who is already facing calls for her resignation over her department's failure to keep paedophiles out of the classroom.

Former

Conservative leader Michael Howard - who set up the sex offenders register as Home Secretary - accused Ms Kelly of attempting a "cover-up" and said she should go.
Gibson was suspended from work at the Portchester boys' school in Bournemouth after local authorities became aware of his conviction for indecent assault of a 15-year-old girl in 1980. He had previously been removed from three schools in the North East and refused work by a supply agency which checked his details with the Criminal Records Bureau.

He has also received a prison sentence after being convicted of fraud in a separate case. But his details were never entered on the confidential List 99 maintained by the Department for Education of teachers barred from working in schools.

The letter, sent in January 2005 and signed by an official in the department, stated that Ms Kelly was aware of the maths teacher's convictions.

And it added: "In reaching her decision the Secretary of State has taken into account that in 1980 you resigned from your teaching post following allegations that you were conducting a relationship with a 15-year-old female pupil, for which you were subsequently convicted.

"The Secretary of State has given weight to the fact that you accept that your actions were unwise and your behaviour was unacceptable; you understand the related consequences of your actions; and, you have undertaken teaching work in recent years to good effect."

The letter - details of which are featured in later editions of the Sunday Telegraph - concluded with a warning to Gibson. "Your behaviour has caused her grave concern," it said. "Consequently you are warned that any further misconduct on your part, which calls for action by here, is likely to have more serious consequences for your future career as a worker with children."


So its ok to have a realtionship with an underage girl and continue teaching according to Ruth Kelly.

Should she really be the Secretary for Education

DavidBrown

Yes, she should go.. but then if each Labour MP resigned for their wrong doing, there would be no-one in the cabinet.

Chip

http://labour-watch.com/sleaze.htm

Chip

Slartibartfast

Rotton to the Core - the whole lot of them

What a contrast to the dignity of Charles Kelly.

unclebuck

Time to go.

Leslie

Don't see how she can possibly stay in her job with that kind of disclosure.

DavidBrown,

That would be the answer to all this country's problems!

Les

David Lock

For the life of me I can't understand why they take the obvious risk and give them a work ticket....... If it was a surgeon who has cost a quarter of a million to train and had made a ****-up in an operation then I can understand someone might be suggesting they can work again under guidelines. But anyone who has demonstrated a penchant for kids should NOT be allowed to teach. End of.

Incidentally both my teenage kids worked for local council looking after kids as part of a council run playscheme thing in school holidays. They had to go through the full monty - CRO etc. This all took over a year by which time they had completed their playscheme work months previously dl

Chip

Mrs Chip was a childminder for years and we were both regularly checked out by social services and had a check to see if we had any police records.

Yet this guy who was known to have commited previous crimes is still allowed to teach kids.

Chip

ben44

The other day she was on telly, waving her arms about Blair stylee, saying she's gonna launch an investigation into how it all happened.

We allready know how it happened, she signed the paperwork allowing it.

Alas

As someone said on telly last night "At least she paid her Council Tax"

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

So She should be sacked, not made to resign, but has Blair got the bottle to sack her? Back her yes but sack her no, wonder how he would feel if one of his kids come into contact with one of them
Cheers
Colin

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Serves her right for being defiant over her "mistakes". If she just resigned straight off, she may had not had the same negative media coverage that she is recieving now.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Last I heard, there's to be an investigation.........and guess who's chairing it? yep, ROOOOOOTH KELLY, dyke extraordinaire!

Lying Labour? Pah!

Alcazar

The Zohan

<shakes head in disbelief>
How can she invetigate this, she is too close to it and potentially involved. Ah, its New Labour, how silly, it will be fine then!

Reality

Maybe it will come out the same time as the police investigation into the police shooting of Charles de Menezes.

Maybe they could just take the Iraq war "investigation", change the title and blame some poor soul who can then kill himself. Will save millions.

Nothing new here - NL Lies and bull**** .

Ruth Kelly should be sacked then we could get ******* Blunkett into yet another cabinet job.

Leslie

In more responsible times you would never have got a job as a teacher if you had been convicted of fraud let alone kiddyfiddling!

Les