Gove slams GCSE 'meddling'
Michael Gove has slammed a senior Labour politician who ordered GCSE English Language papers to be regraded in Wales.
The Education Secretary told MPs today that Welsh Education minister Leighton Andrews Was "irresponsible and mistaken".
Mr Leighton turned a request that the WJEC exam board regrade the affected GCSE English exam papers into an order that they do so. "We have acted to protect the interests of students in Wales," he said.
But addressing the Education Select Committee this morning, Mr Gove accused Mr Andrews of "a regrettable political intervention in what should be a process free from political meddling".
Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith has accused Mr Gove of "playing politics" over the incident, and called on hims to release all correspondence between his department and Ofqual.
“Mr Gove is no stranger to shameless spin, but this time he really has gone too far in jeopardising the job or further education chances of young people in Wales by seeming to endorse a devaluation of their achievements," Mr Smith said.
“The reality is that Mr Gove, instead of seeking solutions and fairness for pupils in England, is instead playing politics to cover his inaction by instigating a political row between Labour and Tories, Wales and England."