Morris accused of inquiry 'interference'

The inquiry will report on Friday

The head of the exams watchdog, Sir William Stubbs, has launched an attack on the Education Secretary, Estelle Morris, accusing her of interfering in the independent inquiry into this year's A-level fiasco.

Earlier he had given evidence to the Tomlinson inquiry, including a series of letters and e-mails that showed concern at the top of the education system at the improvement in A-level grades.

Sir William accused Ms Morris of pre-empting the outcome of the inquiry in a ''wholly improper'' way by opening talks with exam boards concerning a possible review of A-level grades.

''It is a serious risk to the integrity of the inquiry,'' Sir William said.

E-mail warning

He told BBC One's News at Ten: "The clear inference is that she (Estelle Morris) has pre-empted the judgement of Mike Tomlinson - the independent investigator and assumed only one outcome of its findings.

"It's wholly improper in this context when the inquiry is scarcely halfway through its initial phase for the secretary of state personally to have intervened.

"The independent inquiry is of a vital importance for the integrity of the awards and for the futures of the young people concerned and I believe this development is a serious risk to the integrity of the inquiry."

The Department of Education immediately denied pre-empting the results of the inquiry, saying that its talks with boards did not assume any particular outcome.

Estelle Morris issued a statement, saying: "At no stage have I ever thought to prejudice the outcome of the inquiry."

Sir William wanted his evidence heard in public

Sir William, Chairman of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), had denied any wrong-doing during his evidence.

He told the inquiry there was no truth in the claim that he had put exam boards under pressure to award only the same proportion of A grades as last year.

One of the e-mails he released on Wednesday had been sent to Ms Morris on 29 July - two weeks before the results came out - warning her that the pass rate was set to jump by 4%.

Head teachers claim the QCA pressured board officials to alter A-level grades at the last minute to avoid claims that exams were getting easier.

At no point did I ask the awarding bodies to alter grades or marks

Sir William Stubbs, QCA

Sir William said the inquiry chairman, former chief schools inspector Mike Tomlinson, was very interested in two meetings he had held with exam board officials in March and on 26 July.

He submitted documents about the meetings and letters between the QCA and the exam board officials afterwards.

After attending the hearing, Sir William released a statement saying: "These (the documents) make clear how the regulator expected standards to be maintained.

"At no point did I ask the awarding bodies to alter grades or marks."

But Sir William was unapologetic about warning the boards to be on their guard against ''grade drift''.

Ms Morris denied pre-empting the findings

He accepted boards may have been under the impression that they should not let grades drift too high.

Sir William has asked for his evidence to the inquiry to be heard in public, but Mr Tomlinson has said he wants to continue to interview people behind closed doors.

The government has strongly denied suggestions that it leaned on the QCA to manipulate grades.

Schools minister David Miliband has said he met QCA leaders in August but did not put pressure on them over grades.

Conservative Education Spokesman Damian Green said that if there was any truth in the allegations that Ms Morris interfered in the investigation she could not continue as education secretary.

'Maintaining standards'

Head teachers, who spoke to Mr Tomlinson on Monday, claimed to have evidence that the QCA put pressure on the exam boards to downgrade this year's A-level results at a late stage.

The inquiry will hinge on the question of "maintaining standards".

In advance of its session with Mr Tomlinson, the QCA publicised extracts from its code of practice, setting out the duties of exam boards.

A key passage reads: "The chair of examiners' recommendations will be effectively scrutinised under approved awarding body procedures to ensure that the final grades awarded represent continuity and parity of standards across years, over time and across specifications.

"Should the chair of examiners' recommendations be deemed to need reconsideration, the final grade boundary marks should be determined by reviewing all the evidence."

Mr Tomlinson is due to present his interim report by Friday to Ms Morris.