Exam chief was urged to step down

Ken Boston was suspended despite offering his resignation

A civil servant has admitted urging Ken Boston, former head of the exams watchdog, to leave his post before a report into England's Sats marking row.

David Bell, permanent secretary at the Department for Children, Schools and Families said it was obvious the Sats inquiry would be damning for Dr Boston.

Giving evidence to a committee of MPs, Mr Bell denied he was acting under pressure from government ministers.

Dr Boston's later offer to resign was rejected. He was suspended in December.

The Sats tests marking failures last summer affected thousands of children, who did not receive their results on time.

The problems also delayed publication of the primary school league tables.

Suspension

MPs on the Commons schools select committee asked Mr Bell to respond to allegations - made to them last month by Dr Boston - that he had attempted to force him to resign as head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency three months before the report was published.

Mr Bell told the committee: "You don't have to be a prophet to work out that it's going to be bad.

Mr Bell said there was no need for a prophet to know things were bad

"As the crisis unfolded in July and early August it became apparent to me that Dr Boston did not have a grip on the details of the issues and I surmised that it would be very difficult for the QCA and Dr Boston."

He later added: "What I said was 'you should consider your position, it's been a very difficult year'."

MPs questioned Mr Bell as to why Dr Boston was then suspended by the QCA board when he had already offered his resignation over the marking delays - and the resignation was rejected.

Mr Bell was questioned forcefully about his presence at the QCA board meeting which decided to suspend Dr Boston.

Chairman of the committee, Barry Sheerman suggested Dr Boston had been suspended in order to stop him talking when the inquiry findings were published by Lord Sutherland in December.

Mr Shearman said Dr Boston was angry at being suspended for nearly four months.

"He was unable to come here and give evidence, he was in limbo," he said.

Last month, Dr Boston told the same committee of MPs that ministers' account of what went wrong was a "fiction" and evidence against him had been "sexed-up".

On-screen marking

Schools secretary Ed Balls, who also appeared before the committee of MPs on Wednesday, denied suggestions that his department had tried to influence the Sutherland inquiry by placing a member of staff from his department on Lord Sutherland's team.

Mr Balls said seconding a civil servant from his department to the inquiry was accepted practice.

Mr Balls said the QCA rejected on-screen marking

And he pointed to Lord Sutherland's apparent satisfaction with the inquiry remit.

Mr Balls also denied that ministers had been reluctant to introduce on-screen marking to deliver papers more quickly.

He said the QCA had actually rejected this idea earlier.

Schools minister Jim Knight, also called before the committee, said that despite receiving assurances from the QCA last summer that tests papers would be marked on time, "it would appear that those at the top of the QCA did not know there were problems".

Mr Balls and Mr Knight said Dr Boston had been delegating meetings to his deputy, David Gee.

Mr Balls suggested that Ofqual, the body which will become a fully independent regulator of England's exams, would be independent in the same way as the Bank of England, meaning a repeat of the confusion surrounding who was to blame could not be repeated.