Michael Gove demands "profound apology" from Ed Balls over the collapse of last year's Sats tests

It's a story that risks getting buried (conveniently for the Government?) amid the Budget, but shadow children, schools and families secretary Michael Gove is demanding a "profound apology" from his opposite number in the Government, Ed Balls, over the collapse of last year's Sats tests.

It comes as Ken Boston, the former head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - who resigned over the affair - speaks out for the first time.

An inquiry ordered by Mr Balls laid much of the blame for the situation on the QCA, but Dr Boston is now effectively claiming that ministers Mr Balls and Jim Knight lied about the situation, in particular suggesting that Mr Balls's insistence that ministers had pressed him for answers and beleaguered him with demands for meetings as "fiction" and "far from the truth". 

He (Dr Boston) is giving evidence to the DCSF select committee today and Michael Gove is rowing in behind him:

“Ed Balls stands accused of deliberately misleading the public over the Sats fiasco. He claims to have been a vigilant defender of the public interest asking tough questions to ensure tests were delivered properly. But Ken Boston now reveals he took next to no action to ensure these crucial tests were delivered.

"Instead of saying sorry, ministers concentrated on blaming others, giving an account of their activities which Ken Boston tells us was fiction. Ed Balls owes the teachers, parents and children who were let down by his deliberate failure a profound apology and he must come to the House of Commons to set the record straight.”

You can hear Mr Gove expand on it all here on this morning's Today programme.

Jonathan Isaby

Comments

[Cleethorpes Rock]

STOP CALLING FOR APOLOGIES. It looks petty and doesn't address the issue.

Say what's wrong and why. Say what we'll do instead.

Mr Yvette Cooper is from the same rib as Brown- and so pathologically unable to say sorry too.

[Robert Eve]

So what did you think the word 'BALLS' means?

[Freddy]

These are serious allegations. Michael Gove should press on with the good work.

In my opinion he is one of the best shadow ministers - he interviews excellently, he is fluent etc.

His cultural contributions on Newsnight Review are also excellent - this is a man with a great future ahead of him.

[bill acraman]

Dont mind Michael demanding an apology, but as an Oxford educated man ans well as our shadow schools man and broadsheet journalist, I am sure Michael knows that "Profound apology" is a tautology. An apology is an apology, not capable of being graded into profound or less profound. It can be graded between sincere and insincere or complete and partial, so I suppose that is what Michael is getting at.

[Jake]

Is "profound apology" code for "resignation".
If so, say it.

[Jon E Boy]

Dear Sirs,

So what ?

Yours Faithfully,

Ed Balls

[Derrick L Morgan]

Talking of tautology. Having just read Dr Ken Boston's letter, can anyone grammatically explain how, at two meetings, "David Lee was present at neither of them"?

DERRICK

[rightwingery]

Ahh don't worry, folks, Balls will lose his seat at the next election. Perhaps Ken Boston could do a little door knocking in Morley for the party??

[Ron McDonald]

Agree with Cleethorpes Rock - apologies are just words. Its what you call for in the playground.

Concentrate instead on articulating to the public the deviousness and underhand tactics of Mr Balls.

Leave it to others to call for apologies if they wish.

[Herbert]

The words should be, 'Demands his resignation'. It won't be achieved but it's as well to put the demand on record.

[John Moss]

Balls has lied twice, once to Parliament and once, fatally, to the Toady Prog.

I can hear Humphreys now, next time he's on. "Now Minister, just to clear this up, did you lie to us when you said you hardly knew Damian Mcbride?"

[pp]

It is a sad state of affairs when incompetence and dishonesty can be addressed with just an apology.

I guess we are no longer 'shocked' at incompetence and dishonesty because we know full well that is what we get.

I guess we are no longer expect resignations because we know we won't get them.

I guess we make less and less of a fuss because the angrier we get the more our impotence is evident.

[Bexie]

He shoudl be fired. Not just by the commons, but by his constituents. One thing the Tories shoudl do when gaining power is to draw up a list of offenses whereby the MP concerned will have to stand down. Starters:

Lying to Parliament
Fiddling Expenses
Smearing

Any more please add to the list

[revinkevin]

If this is true he has to resign or be sacked.

Is lying to Parliament a criminal offence? If not why not?

[Victor, NW Kent]

We do not want an apology. Saying "sorry" is not nearly good enough. Ed Balls scorches everything he touches. We don't care whether he is sorry or not [leave that concept to the States]- we want his obduracy and inefficiencies exposed for all to see.

[The Bishop Swine]

"STOP CALLING FOR APOLOGIES. It looks petty and doesn't address the issue."

Absolutely right, worse it lets them off the hook. Far better to scream bloody murder and insist on a resignation.

[Cleethorpes Rock]

Perhaps MPs should take an oath to tell the truth in parliament, as they would a court of law. Anyone lying to parliament would then be guilty of perjury to the nation and would face jail.

[resident leftie]

Apologies not good enough now? Only "profound apologies" will do the trick.

[prziloczek]

Sorry!
Silly little word and, if you don't mean it, it is insulting.
What repentance is all about is openly admitting what has gone wrong, seeing what can be done about it, fixing the problem. It is not difficult.
In a democracy, you might expect that there were plenty of people who could help, too.

[Jeezey]

So let me get this straight; Knight thought he had remembered a discussion, then remembered that he had forgotten he hadn't remembered it because it didn't happen? So why would he need to apologize?